After years of expansion, is Grab shifting gears to empire building?

The litmus test: Whether the Grab-Trans-Cab merger benefits commuters or leads to reduced competition and extractive behaviour.

Grab has grand ambitions to become South-east Asia’s “super app” and reach profitability by 2025. PHOTO: ST FILE
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“If we get this right, we can literally go into the history books,” a 32-year-old fresh-faced Anthony Tan told the Financial Times in 2014. 

He was unabashedly ambitious. He had just launched what was GrabTaxi two years ago. He was on a self-declared mission to serve the daily needs of South-east Asians. 

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