Who owns GRAB in ASEAN

 

3 ASEAN countries with distinctive characteristics within Grab Holdings, the region’s leading super app.

Among these three countries, local investors or domestic companies hold equity stakes in Grab Holdings’s local operating entities, which are registered as legal entities within their respective markets.

1. Philippines

Grab entered the Philippine market in 2013. In 2022, SM Investments Corporation became a partner in GrabPay and acquired more than a 35% stake in GrabPay Philippines. Subsequently, Grab resumed operating its own digital wallet in 2025. During the same year, SM Investments and the Sy siblings, one of the wealthiest families in the Philippines, acquired approximately 35% of the shares in Grab Philippines.

Under Philippine law, the 60/40 Foreign Ownership Rule requires that public service businesses—including ride-hailing transport services—must have at least 60% Filipino ownership. As a result, Grab Holdings cannot hold more than 50% of shares in the Philippine entity. This has led Grab to partner with local stakeholders through nominee structures, including “Jesse Stefan Maxwell”, a local businessman who is also listed as a shareholder in Grab Philippines.

2. Thailand

Grab entered the Thai market in 2013.

In 2019, Central Group, the largest retail conglomerate in Thailand, acquired a 67% stake in Porto Worldwide Limited, an investment vehicle that holds a 40% stake in Grab Thailand. The remaining 60% of Grab Thailand is owned by Grab Holdings, the parent company.

Previously, Porto Worldwide Limited had two shareholders: OAL Holdings with 67% and Central Pattana with 33%. Central Group’s acquisition of the 67% stake from OAL Holdings resulted in Porto Worldwide Limited becoming fully owned by Central Group.

Central’s 40% stake in Grab Thailand forms part of a strategic partnership to strengthen Grab Thailand as a technology platform. Under this strategy, prominent Central Group retail brands—such as Tops, a premium supermarket chain—are integrated into the Grab Thailand application, allowing them to operate storefronts directly on the platform.

3. Indonesia

Grab entered the Indonesian market in 2014.

Emtek Group, one of Indonesia’s largest media and technology conglomerates—owner of Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV) and the e-commerce platform Bukalapak—acquired an approximately 8% stake in Grab Indonesia, a subsidiary of Grab Holdings.

Emtek has a very strong presence in offline businesses and media. Through its partnership with Grab, logistics services and fintech payment solutions can be integrated directly with Emtek’s existing customer base.

This collaboration has also made it easier for Grab to gain access to digital banking opportunities and major media networks in Indonesia.

Compiled by ASEAN Skyline Rising

ASEAN Skyline Rising