JD

Central Group, a conglomerate holding company in Thailand, involving in merchandising, real estate, retailing, hospitality and restaurants, has been rumored to buy “good amount of shares” in “Grab Thailand” since September 2018. Grab offer various transportation services which are well-known and widely used in Asean. This deal will allow Central Group to be the market leader in digi-lifestyle platform. Earlier today, Central Group and Grab Thailand send out invitations stating that Central Group’s CEO Tos Chirathivat and Grab’s co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan will make a statement themselves on January 31, 2019. This event has been predicted to be an announcement of the takeover of Grab Thailand by 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 will no doubt create a synergy between Central and Grab, especially Central that can expand its business further.