A Grab logo is pictured at the Money 20/20 Asia Fintech Trade Show in Singapore March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Anshuman Daga
February 25, 2020
SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – Southeast Asian ride hailer Grab is raising $706 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) <8306.T> and $150 million from Japanese IT services firm TIS Inc <3626.T>, as it seeks to expand aggressively into financial services.
“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 on Tuesday.
Grab, backed by SoftBank Group Corp <9984.T>, said it will use the funding to offer lending, insurance and wealth management products and services for Southeast Asian consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
MUFG’s deputy president and incoming CEO Hironori Kamezawa said the bank will combine Grab’s advanced technologies and data management expertise with its financial experience. “We believe that this alliance will also generate additional momentum for our ongoing digital transformation of MUFG,” he said.
Separately, Grab also said that TIS Inc, part of TIS INTEC Group, is investing $150 million in the company.
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore and Takashi Umekawa in Tokyo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
