Singapore's ride-sharing giant Grab raises $200 mn from STIC Investments

Grab Holdings Inc., a Singapore-based technology company, has raised $200 million from South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments Inc., the firm announced on Sept. 11.

Proceeds will be used to expand the company’s operations, including food delivery and financial services.

Grab is one of the largest startups in Southeast Asia often dubbed as "Uber of Southeast Asia" for its popular ride-sharing service. In recent years the company has been diversifying its operations, in particular, focusing on payment solutions and financial services.

"We decided to invest because the company's business drives digital transformation," said STIC Investments. “Grab offers daily essential services to users in Southeast Asia in an innovative manner and is dedicated to serving the interest of everyone involved, including driver-partners, small- and medium-sized enterprises, delivery-partners, and users."

The company has netted about 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) in funding rounds to date. Earlier in February, Grab raised $850 million from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in a move to bolster its financial services.

Last year, the company also received an undisclosed amount of investments from KB Financial Group’s venture capital – estimated to be worth tens of billions of won.

Grab has collaborated with many Korean companies such as Hyundai Motor, SK Group, Mirae Asset, Naver, Lotte Group, and Samsung Electronics in a wide range of services including transportation, mobility solution, and franchise services.

STIC Investments has invested in over 70 companies and operates $4.5 billion of assets under management.

By Jun-ho Cha

chacha@hankyung.co9m