Grab Gets $850m from Japanese Investors to Boost Financial Services

Singapore-headquartered Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading super app, announced Tuesday that it has raised over $850 million from Japanese investors, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) and TIS Inc.

Grab said MUFG, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, will invest $706 million while TIS, the leading provider of network solutions and system integration services, will chip in $150 million.

The fresh funding will be used to create accessible and affordable financial services for Southeast Asia to boost the region’s financial inclusion, Grab said.

The investment comes as reports surface about the possible merger of Grab and Indonesian ride-hailing giant Gojek. The Indonesian unicorn, however, denied the report while Grab declined to comment.

Under the partnership with MUFG, both the companies will co-develop next-generation financial products and services based on our combined customer insights to better cater to the financial needs of Grab’s users, driver-partners and merchant-partners.

“MUFG’s investment into Grab is a vote of confidence in our super app strategy and our ability to build a long-term, sustainable business,” Ming Maa, Grab’s president, said in a statement.

Grab Financial Group currently offers financial services across payments and remittance (GrabPay), rewards (GrabRewards), lending (GrabFinance), insurance (GrabInsure), and retail wealth management (GrabInvest) to our micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, driver-partners, and users in Southeast Asia.

Under the partnership with MUFG, Grab will confer “First Choice Bank” status to MUFG and its partner banks in the region. Both companies will also co-develop innovative financial products and services based on their combined customer insights to better cater to the financial needs of Grab’s users.

“We are excited to be able to provide customers with next-generation financial services by combining Grab’s advanced technologies and data management expertise with our financial knowledge and know-how,” said MUFG Deputy President, Group COO & Group CDTO Hironori Kamezawa.

As part of the agreement between Grab and TIS, both of the companies will collaborate on enhancing the digital payment infrastructure in the region and in Japan to enable greater adoption of cashless payment options, such as GrabPay. Both companies will also collaborate on developing emerging payment technologies.

MUFG aims to provide next-generation financial services by combining its strengths in financial knowledge and know-how with Grab’s advanced technologies and data management expertise, said Nobutake Suzuki, president and CEO of MUFG Innovation Partners.

“Through the alliance, MUFG will also leverage its initiatives and experience Southeast Asia with Grab to accelerate both the evoluation of MUFG’s business model and the realisation of next-generation digital financial services, including in Japan,” Suzuki stressed.