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Grab posts $1.34 billion net loss for Q3, as Covid-19 curbs hit ride-hailing in region

elean
3 minutes

BENGALURU (REUTERS) - South-east Asia's largest ride-hailing and food delivery firm Grab Holdings on Thursday (Nov 11) reported a net loss of US$988 million (S$1.34 billion) for the July-September quarter, 59 per cent more than the year-ago loss of US$621 million. Total revenue for the third quarter fell 9 per cent to US$157 million, from US$172 million a year earlier, as its ride-hailing business was hit by Covid-19 curbs in some countries in the region. Fresh outbreaks in South-east Asia hit Grab's mobility unit that fell behind its deliveries business, its largest by billings. Its mobility business brought in US$88 million in revenue, down 26 per cent from a year earlier, while sales at its deliveries unit rose 58 per cent. "Mobility and food delivery services were suspended in Vietnam for most of Q3, and six of our core countries in which we operate experienced tighter movement controls," said chief financial officer Peter Oey. CEO Anthony Tan told an investor webcast that the company expects major recovery for the ride-hailing business in the fourth quarter, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, as vaccination rates increase in the region, the Nikkei Asia reported. Gr...

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China’s ride-hailing giant Didi seeks up to $5.4 billion in US IPO

elean
4 minutes

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is looking to raise as much as US$4 billion (S$5.4 billion) in one of the biggest United States initial public offerings (IPOs) of the past decade. Didi, which is one of the largest investments in SoftBank Group's portfolio, is marketing 288 million American depositary shares (ADSs) for US$13 to US$14 apiece, according to a filing on Thursday (June 24) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Affiliates of Morgan Stanley as well as Singapore's Temasek Holdings have agreed to purchase US$1.25 billion of ADSs in the offering, according to Thurday's filing. At the top of the range, the company would have a market value of more than US$60 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in the filing. That is at the lower end of a range that had stretched up to US$100 billion, Bloomberg News reported in April, suggesting investors baulked at the price tag. The same happened with US ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies, which achieved a US$75.5 billion valuation in its 2019 IPO, well below the US$120 billion that had been touted a year earlier. Uber now has a valuation of almost US$95 billion. Didi, whose shares had re...

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Didi duo set for billion dollar fortunes on ride-hailing IPO

elean
6 minutes

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Cheng Wei, the co-founder of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi, is poised to shoot up the ranks of the super-wealthy when his firm lists shares in the US. The company under the business name Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc, revealing that the Chinese entrepreneur has a 7 per cent stake. With Didi reportedly trading at a valuation of about US$95 billion (S$126 billion) in the secondary market in recent months, that shareholding could be worth as much as US$6.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jean Liu, a co-founder and Didi's president, owns a 1.7 per cent slice that could be worth US$1.6 billion. Eight other executives collectively hold about 1.8 per cent of the company, which translates to a total US$1.7 billion hoard. It's the latest example of ride-hailing riches being minted in Asia as companies backed by Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group prepare to go public. Singapore-based Grab Holdings is poised to merge with a special purpose acquisition company, while Indonesia's GoTo Group is pursuing a listing by the end of the year. "Ride mobility is one of the most significant growth industries in Asia," said Gary Dugan, chief executive officer of the Glob...

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Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi reveals $2 billion loss in US IPO filing

elean
4 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese ride-hailing company Didi revealed a US$1.6 billion (S$2 billion) net loss for 2020 as it moves ahead with plans for a US initial public offering (IPO). The company in its first public filing for the IPO listed the offering as US$100 million, a placeholder that will change when the company discloses terms for the share sale. Didi filed on Thursday (June 10) under the business name Xiaoju Kuaizhi, with Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co leading the offering. Didi, one of the largest investments in SoftBank Group's portfolio, accelerated its listing plans after its business rebounded as the coronavirus pandemic ebbed in China. The company has been considering seeking a valuation of as much as US$70 billion to US$100 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg News reported in April. In recent months, Didi has been trading at a valuation of about US$95 billion on the secondary market, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information was private. The company last raised funding at a US$62 billion value last year, according to PitchBook. A representative for Didi declined to comment on the company's val...

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Uber sees $1.5 billion loss on ride-hailing revenue plunge

elean
2 minutes

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Uber on Thursday (Nov 5) reported that it lost US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in the recently ended quarter as the pandemic walloped its ride-hailing business, but boosted its food delivery service. Revenue in Uber's mobility unit was down 53 per cent from the same quarter last year, while money taken in from drivers delivering restaurant meals or other orders more than doubled, according to the San Francisco-based company. "Despite an uneven pandemic response and broader economic uncertainty, our global scope, diversification, and the team's tireless execution delivered steadily improving results," chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in an earnings release. Uber shares that had been buoyed by the triumph of an initiative that lets drivers remain classified as independent contractors in California sank nearly three percent in after market trades. Demand for rides directly correlates to pandemic lock-down restrictions in cities, and Uber's mobility and deliver units are positioned to take advantage of returns to pre-virus lifestyles, Mr Khosrowshahi said in an earnings call. "Uber is becoming the go-to app for getting around or getting something delivered yo...