Once South-East Asia’s most valuable startup, Grab falls US$13bil behind GoTo

Grab and GoTo have been locked in an expensive battle for dominance over the past several years. Grab still counts the city-state of Singapore as its largest market even as it tries to expand in countries including Indonesia, South-East Asia’s largest economy. — AFP

Singapore’s Grab Holdings Ltd, once South-East Asia’s most valuable startup, is faltering behind GoTo Group in the public markets as it fights to gain ground on its Indonesian ride-hailing rival’s home turf.

The unprofitable companies are both struggling to convince investors of their moneymaking potential after staging their stock-market debuts in recent months. Yet GoTo has fallen less than its competitor and its market value of about US$26bil (RM116.67bil) is now twice that of its Singaporean peer. The companies are each set to report quarterly earnings in the coming days.