Japanese group invests RM860mil in Internet company founded in Malaysia

The investment, which was made through SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc (SIMI), is the largest for GrabTaxi, which is known as MyTeksi in Malaysia. The company that provides the mobile taxi booking application was founded by Anthony Tan and Hooi Ling Tan, both Harvard Business School graduates, in 2011, according to a statement from the company. Anthony is the grandson of Tan Sri Tan Yuet Foh, the co-founder of the Tan Chong group of companies.

KUALA LUMPUR: GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd, whose roots can be traced back to Malaysia, received a major boost in its challenge to keep up with the market share fight in the taxi booking mobile application market with a US$250mil (RM864mil) investment from Japan’s Softbank Corp.

The investment, which was made through SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc (SIMI), is the largest for GrabTaxi, which is known as MyTeksi in Malaysia.