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Southeast Asia’s Grab said to be considering US IPO this year which could raise at least US$2 billion

  • The plans, including the size of the issue and timing, have not been finalised and are subject to market conditions, sources said
  • Grab has become a one-stop shop for services such as food delivery, payments and insurance in Southeast Asia

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Grab caught global attention when Uber sold its Southeast Asia business to the company in 2018 after a costly five-year battle and in return took a stake in Grab. Photo: Shutterstock

Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery giant Grab is exploring a listing in the United States this year, encouraged by robust investor appetite for initial public offerings (IPOs), three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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Grab’s IPO could raise at least US$2 billion, one of the sources said, which would likely make it the largest overseas share offering by a Southeast Asian company.

“The market is good and the business is doing better than before. This should work well for public markets,” he said.

The plans, including the size of the issue and timing, have not been finalised and are subject to market conditions, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak about the matter.

Singapore-based Grab declined to comment on the potential IPO.

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Grab, whose backers include SoftBank Group Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has expanded rapidly from its beginnings as a ride-hailing venture in Malaysia in 2012 to become the region’s most valuable start-up worth more than US$16 billion.

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