"The majority of people in Southeast Asia don't have bank accounts," said Jixun Foo, managing partner for GGV Ventures and an early Grab backer. "The land-grab has attracted billions in funding from marquee names.Backers for Grab include SoftBank Group Corp <9984.T>, Microsoft Corp , Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Uber [UBER.UL], whose Southeast Asia business it acquired in March. (For a graphic on investments in ride-hailing firms click here: https://tmsnrt.rs/2OghNFf)The firms' similarities are striking. Kudo is also expanding to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore.Go-Jek too is starting to foray into Grab's turf. While it does not have same number of partnerships, it this month announced a tie-up with DBS Group Holdings , Southeast Asia's largest lender, for financial services.

Source: The Star November 29, 2018 23:15 UTC