A driver uses the Grab application on a smartphone in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, March 9, 2018. Grab, the dominant ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia, is close to finalizing a deal to acquire Uber Technologies Inc.'s business in the region and may sign a deal this week or next, according to people familiar with the matter. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
SINGAPORE: Uber may be the world’s biggest ride-hailing company but it was left in the dust in South-East Asia by homegrown upstart Grab, which knew better how to navigate the chaotic highways and byways of an eclectic region.
Spanning 10 countries, from wealthy, ultra-organised Singapore to places like Indonesia and the Philippines that are home to traffic-choked cities, coming up with a ride-hailing service for the whole of South-East Asia was never going to be easy.
