Grab and the U.S. IPO

One of the Southeast Asia region's most promising startups, Singapore-based Grab, is exploring the possibility of a US listing, encouraged by investor interest in an IPO, Reuters reports.

Malaysia-based Grab (also known as GrabTaxi) provides taxi and logistics services through an app in Singapore and neighbouring countries Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. The company has reached a capitalisation of $16bn since it was founded in 2012.

According to one agency source, the company could raise at least $2bn, which promises to be the largest overseas debut for a Southeast Asian company. The same source said the number of shares and timing had not yet been agreed and depended on market conditions. It is backed by Softbank Group (T:9984) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG).

The company, which also offers financial services and recently obtained a digital bank licence in Singapore, said this month that group revenue had recovered and was well above pre-pandemic levels. The company said that its taxi business was profitable in all operating markets, including its largest in Indonesia. it expects its food delivery business to break even by the end of the year as well.

Until recently, Grab was in talks about a merger with Indonesian rival Gojek, but these were terminated, after which the company had plans for an IPO in the US.