Ride-hailing giant Grab to invest USD 2 bn in Indonesia with SoftBank funds

Ride-hailing giant Grab is investing USD 2 billion in Indonesia over the next five years, using funds from Japan's SoftBank Group to boost its presence in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, the firms said Monday.

The Singapore-based firm has seen its business grow rapidly since it bought US-based rival Uber's regional ride-hailing and food business in March last year in exchange for a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab.

Its Indonesian investment will focus on building a next-generation electric vehicle transport network and rolling out e-healthcare services to improve access to doctors and medical services across the archipelago.

The announcement came after SoftBank last week said it would partner with tech firms including Apple and Microsoft in a new USD 108-billion investment fund.

It is the long-mooted successor to its mammoth Vision Fund, which took stakes in leading tech start-ups from Uber to WeWork.

"Indonesia's technology sector has huge potential," SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement.

"I'm very happy to be investing USD 2 billion into the future of Indonesia through Grab."