Grab Clinches Deal With HSBC

Ride-hailing startup Grab has secured a $370 million five-year asset-backed syndicated facility from HSBC Singapore, said to boost the financing of the homegrown company’s vehicle fleet growth in Singapore. According to a statement by HSBC on Sunday, the facility is part of the $700 million in debt financing that Grab previously announced in October 2017. The bespoke deal is described as a scalable, ring-fenced solution with a potential upsize of S$800 million ($592 million) and drivers who lease the cars will form the supply base of the Grab Car business, Reuters reported. HSBC said it had acted as the sole structuring adviser, mandated lead arranger and book-runner of the facility. Grab’s president Ming Maa said, “Grab is currently in 217 cities across Southeast Asia, and as we expand beyond ride-hailing to become the leading O2O [online -to-offline] mobile platform in the region, it is crucial that we have the financing necessary to facilitate our rapid growth.”