Grab buys a Malaysian grocery store chain to further its shopping push

Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing company, Grab Holdings Ltd., is buying a chain of supermarkets in Malaysia. This is part of its plan to grow its grocery business in one of its most important areas.

Navis Capital Partners is selling Everrise shops to the company. The deal gives the company 19 stores in the eastern part of Sarawak state. Grab didn’t say how much the deal was worth in its Monday announcement.

Grab aims to transform Everrise’s business into a digital platform, providing its users with on-demand grocery delivery services. It bought the bigger Malaysian chain Jaya Grocer three years ago, which led to this deal.

It is getting into new areas, like online banking and shopping, to stay ahead of competitors like Indonesia’s GoTo Group, which is Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing and food delivery company. – Bloomberg