Grab Financial Group – which covers the GrabPay service and ventures that include insurance and loans – would operate independently of the core Grab business.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and digital payments platform Grab is said to be in talks with Alibaba's Ant Financial Group, formerly known as Alipay, as well as global payments firm PayPal, to spin out its financial services business, TechCrunch reported.
According to TechCrunch, discussions are still at an early stage, but a spin-out is expected in the coming months. This move would allow Grab to «double down» on its non-transportation business amid stiff competition in the region to capture a slice of the regions digital economy, which Google estimates to reach S$240 billion by 2025.
TechCrunch noted that Grab has been heavily linked with an investment from Alibaba in the past. Backing Grab Financial aligns with the Chinese firm's bid to expand more heavily across Southeast Asia after investments in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
Last week, finews.asia reported Grab's venture into lending and insurance, as it announced it aims to become Southeast Asia’s largest merchant network, insurtech policy provider and fintech lender.
