Grab Bike

There has been a report that “Grab”, a Singapore-based ride-hailing and logistics services, is in talk with Central Group of a potential on selling its “decent-sized stake” to Central Group. The deal will likely benefit Central as they are Thailand’s largest retailer and as food delivery services are now booming, grab services come and go at Central’s restaurants in various shopping malls. It is said that Grab is aiming for JD Central, an e-commerce company that Central entered in a joint venture with China’s e-commerce JD.com. This is no doubt creating a synergy between Central and Grab, especially Central that can expand its business further….if Central Group decides to strike the deal. Taking this matter into consideration, the protest from Thai motorcycle taxi services, saying that Grab taxi services are against the land traffic act for not having taxi licenses, could affect the decision of Central Group. Meanwhile, Grab is also being pressured from Indonesia’s Go-Jek, a similar service, that plans to invest 500 million dollars to advance in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Philippines. A few days ago, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore fined Grab and Uber, who exited the market in March after selling its Southeast Asian business to Grab in exchange for a 27.5% stake in Grab, a combined SGD13 million ($9.5 million). After Uber had exited, several anticompetitive actions including price rises and driver lock-ins that hindered the ability of rival taxi companies to compete with Grab occurred, and later, led to a complaint, investigation and fine. Whether these matters will lower the chance of taking over the business from Central Group, both parties still have yet to officially confirm or further detail regarding this deal.