Grab celebrates stock market debut in the US

Grab celebrated its stock market debut in the United States with Nasdaq’s first-ever opening ball ceremony held in Singapore, yesterday.

The move is valued at almost US$40 billion (about RM169.2 million) and was made possible through a merger with Altimeter Growth Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

This makes it the largest ever US public listing by a Southeast Asian company.

Chief executive officer of Cradle Fund, Rafiza Ghazali said as the Malaysian Government funding agency that backed Grab in its early years, it is proud to witness Grab’s huge milestone.

“Grab’s commitment and success is an entrepreneurship story that should be told to everyone. Your journey is an inspiring story, for Malaysian high-calibre technology-based startups to scale and grow globally,” he said.

Nasdaq chairman of Asia-Pacific Bob McCooey said he understands how Grab has grown into a household name and has become the number one super-app in Southeast Asia having experienced for himself the one-app-for-all experience.

Grab group chief executive officer and co-founder Anthony Tan said it’s important for the company to not lose sight of what it was built on which is the hard work of its Grab drivers and merchant partners. At the event, Tan was also joined by Tan Hooi Ling on stage.

After Grab was officially listed on Nasdaq, about 1500 of Grab employees and representatives from Grab's partner communities was featured on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square, New York City.

Founded in 2012 with its initial office in Segambut, Grab has grown from offering ride hailing services to delivery services, wealth management, telemedicine, insurance, and more.