Alibaba in talks to invest over S$4 billion in Grab: Bloomberg

The funding is about a fifth of Grab's last known valuation.

Andrew Koay | September 16, 2020, 02:43 PM

China's largest corporation could be set to invest billions into South-East Asian ride-hailing firm Grab.

Bloomberg reported on Sep. 16 that Alibaba was in talks for a US$3 billion (S$4.08 billion) investment.

The report said that a portion of the funds would be used to acquire Grab stock held by Uber Technologies.

The funding is about a fifth of Grab's last known valuation of US$14 billion (S$19.04 billion).

Financial Times also reported that Grab's shares have been traded at a 25 per cent discount.

Known initially for its ride-hailing services, Grab has since expanded into financial services, food delivery, and mobile payments.

However, the company is currently facing its "single biggest crisis" due to the pandemic, said chief executive officer Anthony Tan according to Bloomberg.

In June, Grab announced its staff numbers would be reduced by five per cent as a result of cost-cutting measures.

Both Grab and Alibaba declined to comment, reported Reuters.

Top image via Alibaba and Grab

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