Ride-hailing giant Grab is investing $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 percent 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.
Related: Grab launches Indonesia’s first e-scooter sharing service, Grabwheels, available in BSD City
The announcement came after SoftBank last week said it would partner with tech firms including Apple and Microsoft in a new $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 US$2 billion into the future of Indonesia through Grab.”
The Japanese firm has also invested in Grab, which competes with Indonesian ride-hailing giant GoJek, and offers a host of services, including food delivery and bill payments.
On Monday, Grab also announced plans to build a second headquarters in Indonesia that will house a research and design centre.
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