SoftBank, supported by SoftBank, targets $ 2 billion more this year for large companies

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Grab plans to raise an additional $ 2 billion this year as part of its expansion, said its managing director, just weeks after the announcement of funding of more than 4, $ 5 billion in the largest round of private financing in Southeast Asia.

"We plan to raise $ 6.5 billion of total capital this year," said Anthony Tan in an interview, in which he outlined Grab's strategy to become a must-have application in Southeast Asia, where around 650 million people.

Grab then said in a statement that he planned to invest a significant portion of the funds in Indonesia. Reuters first announced the funding goal earlier Monday.

"We basically got a very strong vote of confidence. And Masa said SoftBank was very pleased with Grab and that SoftBank would provide unlimited support to fuel our growth, "Tan said, referring to SoftBank Group Corp founder and CEO Masayoshi Son.

SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The funding will come from strategic investors and will consist of a mix of debt and equity, Tan said.

Grab's massive financing round began shortly after US-based Uber Technologies Inc.'s acquisition of Southeast Asia activities. [IPO-UBER.N] last March.

Grab, headquartered in Singapore, is expanding in Indonesia, the home of Go-Jek. Both are collecting billions of dollars to attract tourists, food delivery, e-commerce and banks in a populated area with a growing number of consumers using smartphones to travel, shop and make payments.

Grab and Go-Jek both started in the race and have since amassed millions of users at great prices. The sponsors of Go-Jek include Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alphabet Inc.'s Google.

Last month, Grab Chairman Ming Maa – a former SoftBank executive – said Grab was planning to raise more funds in the ongoing round of financing, in which the SoftBank Vision Fund had invested 1.5 billion dollars.

On Monday, Tan said: "We have worked extensively with SoftBank's portfolio companies in terms of technical and operational expertise as well as capital support."

"This will help us grow very aggressively this year across all sectors – transport, mobility, food and payments," he said, referring to SoftBank's support.

Tan said Grab was looking to make at least six investments or acquisitions this year.

"Thanks to the amount of funds we have raised and the support of strategic investors such as SoftBank, we are so well funded to implement our expansion and investment plans. So there's really no need for an IPO, "said Tan founded Grab with Harvard classmate Tan Hooi Ling.

Other contributors to Grab are Toyota Motor Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co.

People with first-hand knowledge of the issue said that Grab has raised about $ 8 billion since its launch almost 7 years ago.