--Indonesia's President Joko Widodo met with Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of 
SoftBank Group and Anthony Tan, CEO of Grab 
--Investment will be used to digitize critical services for the country


Grab announced today it will invest US$2 billion into Indonesia over a period 
of five years with the capital invested by SoftBank, to accelerate the 
development of the country's digital infrastructure. The investment will go 
towards creating a next-generation transportation network for cities and 
transforming how critical services, like healthcare, are delivered. 

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190729/2536700-1-a 
Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190729/2536700-1-b

The initiatives were announced after a meeting between Indonesia's President 
Joko Widodo, Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group, Anthony Tan, CEO 
of Grab and Ridzki Kramadibrata, President of Grab Indonesia, at the Merdeka 
Palace in Jakarta. The group discussed Indonesia's ambition of becoming the 
largest digital economy in Southeast Asia over the next few years, by focusing 
on investment opportunities in the technology sector and developing homegrown 
technology talent. SoftBank, which invested US$1.46 billion in Grab earlier 
this year, will seek to grow its presence in Indonesia. 

To play its part in helping Indonesia achieve this ambition, SoftBank will 
invest the US$2 billion into the country through Grab, to drive the 
digitization of crucial services and infrastructure. Grab and SoftBank will 
invest to create a next-generation transport network for Indonesia based around 
an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem that will drive cities toward a greener and 
cleaner transportation grid. Both companies will also develop geo-mapping 
solutions for Indonesia, in order to drive the country's development and 
adoption of future technologies.

Grab will also launch affordable e-healthcare services in Indonesia, within the 
next three months, aiming to increase access significantly to doctors and 
medical services for all Indonesians.

As part of Grab's long-term commitment to Indonesia, the company also announced 
plans for a second headquarters in Indonesia. It will house Grab's rapidly 
growing R&D centre in Jakarta and will be the dual headquarters for the 
GrabFood business, the largest food delivery provider across Southeast Asia. 

Grab's second headquarters will serve the unique needs of customers in 
Indonesia, and focus on developing solutions that empower micro-entrepreneurs, 
like Grab-Kudo agents. Relevant solutions will be introduced to other Southeast 
Asian emerging economies. 

As one of Indonesia's five tech unicorns, Grab's second HQ in Indonesia will 
provide career opportunities for thousands of Indonesians, and upskill more 
local tech talent in partnership with leading Indonesian universities. This 
highlights the importance of Indonesia to Grab's business, where it is the 
leading ride-hailing company and part of the largest digital payments ecosystem 
in the country.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group said, "Indonesia's technology 
sector has huge potential. I'm very happy to be investing US$2 billion into the 
future of Indonesia through Grab."

Indonesia Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan 
said, "Supported by the growing economy, Indonesia has a good investment 
climate where we are working together to boost the ease of investment in 
Indonesia. This investment is evidence that Indonesia has been on the radar of 
investors, especially in the technology sector. We look forward to working with 
Grab, the fifth unicorn in Indonesia, and SoftBank to empower SMEs, accelerate 
tourism, and improving health services."

Anthony Tan, CEO of Grab, said, "With our presence in 224 cities, Indonesia is 
our largest market and we are committed to long-term sustainable development of 
the country. We are delighted to facilitate this SoftBank investment, as we 
believe by investing in digitizing critical services and infrastructure, we 
hope to accelerate Indonesia's ambition to become the largest digital economy 
in the region and improve the livelihoods of millions in the country."

Ridzki Kramadibrata, President of Grab Indonesia said, "Grab is an 
Indonesia-focused company. Having our second headquarters in Jakarta will allow 
us to better serve the needs of all Indonesians and those from emerging 
economies in the region. As a technology decacorn, Grab very well understands 
the needs and challenges we have here. We are also well positioned to support 
more high tech industries and infrastructure companies originating from 
Indonesia."

Since 2017, Grab has invested over US$1 billion into Indonesia through its Grab 
4 Indonesia 2020 master plan, and its commitment to invest into Indonesian 
startups. Grab aims to double the number of micro-entrepreneurs in the country 
in five years, up from the 5 million created so far, with this additional US$2 
billion commitment to Indonesia. 

Grab has had a significant impact on Indonesia's economy. According to a CSIS 
and Tenggara Strategic research report, Grab's contribution to Indonesia's 
economy in 2018 was approximately IDR 48.9 trillion or US$3.5 billion.

About Grab

Grab is the leading super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services 
that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto 
over 155 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers, 
merchants, and agents. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport 
services in the region, in addition to food and package delivery services, 
across 338 cities in eight countries, including 224 cities in Indonesia. 

SOURCE  Grab