Size is not everything you need to get ahead in the wired world

Why car-hailing firm Grab is taking on global behemoth Uber and prospering throughout Southeast Asia

Outside Southeast Asia, very few might have heard of Grab. But a lot of ink has been spilled in the region about the fight between the two car-hailing companies and how they have been able to prosper simultaneously.

The world’s most valuable start-up and valued at US$68 billion, Uber has a war chest dwarfing that of Singapore-based Grab, which only amounts to US$4 billion.

With Uber selling off its China operation to Didi Chuxing in August last year, Southeast Asia has become the next must-win battle. Curiously enough, Grab has claimed more than 95 per cent of the market share in places including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.