Grab surpasses Q2 revenue estimates with RM651 mil, 23pc growth
Published on: Fri, Aug 01, 2025 Text Size: KOTA KINABALU: Grab Holdings reported a 23pc year-on-year revenue jump to US$819 million for Q2, surpassing analysts' forecast of US$812 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at US$109 million, meeting expectations. Despite tough competition from Indonesia's GoTo Group and other new players, Grab added 2 million monthly users, reaching 46 million, helped by broader product offerings. Speculation of a Grab-GoTo merger resurfaced after Grab sold US$1.5 billion in convertible bonds, but the company denied ongoing talks. Discussions had reportedly slowed due to regulatory concerns, with Indonesia's antitrust body warning against monopolistic outcomes. Shares remain well below Grab's 2021 IPO price, though they've risen 60pc over the past year. The company, backed by Uber, is also pushing into digital finance, expecting to issue over US$1 billion in loans by year-end, and exploring autonomous technologies. CFO Peter Oey said new features like family accounts and pooled food orders are driving user spending and will 'continue building on the product-led strategy.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Saudi, Russia lead 547,000 bpd increase in OPEC+ oil output
LONDON: Saudi Arabia, Russia and six key members of the OPEC+ alliance said Sunday they will increase production by 547,000 barrels a day in a move which analysts say aims to regain market share amid resilient crude prices. Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, along with the Saudis and Russians – together nicknamed the Voluntary Eight (V8) – currently produce about 41-42 million barrels a day, so the increase is about 1.5 percent. Analysts said there was unlikely to be a major impact on prices, with the Brent reference oil currently selling at about US$70 a barrel. "The eight participating countries will implement a production adjustment of 547,000 barrels per day in September 2025 from August 2025 required production level," said a statement released after a meeting where the hike was agreed. The eight key producers, who started increasing production in April, affirmed their commitment to market stability on "current healthy oil market fundamentals," an OPEC statement read. Oil prices have held up better than observers anticipated amid strong summer demand and a high geopolitical risk premium, notably owing to conflict between Iran and Israel. "OPEC+ has passed the first test – unwinding 2.2 million barrels per day (since April) without crashing prices or compromising unity," said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy. "But the next task will be even harder: deciding if and when to unwind the remaining 1.66 million barrels, all while navigating geopolitical tension and preserving cohesion," said Leon. The post-meeting statement said the decision came "in view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories." The OPEC+ countries agreed in December to start a gradual return from last April of the 2.2 million barrels per day of previous production cuts. The latest move, a year ahead of an initial 18-month schedule, completes the unwinding and also provides for a 300,000 barrels per day tranche granted specifically to the United Arab Emirates. The statement said that "the phase-out of the additional voluntary production adjustments may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions." The eight added that they will hold monthly meetings for a regular review of market conditions. For now, the return of other production cuts is to be discussed at the next OPEC+ ministerial meeting at the end of November, with all 22 members. But OPEC said the V8 will first meet on Sept 7. In a bid to boost prices, the wider OPEC+ group – comprising the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies – in recent years had agreed to three different tranches of output cuts, amounting to almost six million bpd in total. After a long period of producers seeking to combat price erosion by implementing production cuts to make oil scarcer, recent months have seen a shift in strategy. Prior to the announcement, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo had suggested the quota increase was "largely priced in" on energy markets. What happens over the next few months is less certain but ING's Warren Patterson said that the "base scenario" will see the V8 pause output hikes for the time being. For Patterson, a significant surplus may well emerge from the fourth quarter of this year, which OPEC+ would have to manage carefully. "The alliance is striving to find a balance between regaining market share and avoiding a sharp drop in oil prices," so as not to wipe out its profits, said Tamas Varga of PVM Oil Associates. Market experts warn that forecasting is particularly challenging given the uncertainty emanating from US President Donald Trump's tariffs policy and its effects on global trade, as well as his 10-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. --AFP
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
King's historic state visit to Russia underscores deepening bilateral ties, says Ambassador
MOSCOW: The state visit by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, to Russia from Aug 5-10 has been described as the highlight of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, said Malaysia's Ambassador to Russia Datuk Cheong Loon Lai. He said the visit is the highest-level ever made and the first by a Malaysian head of state to Russia since diplomatic relations were established in April 1967. "His Majesty's state visit, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, is a recognition of the five decades of diplomatic ties with Malaysia, which was among the earliest Asean countries to establish ties with the then Soviet Union. "This visit also reflects the crucial role of the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the context of international relations,' he told Bernama here on Sunday (Aug 1) in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim's state visit. Cheong said the visit will begin in Moscow, where His Majesty is scheduled to hold an official meeting with Putin at the Grand Kremlin Palace. Both leaders are expected to discuss potential cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, higher education, technology and innovation, people-to-people ties, digital transformation, agriculture and food security, as well as regional and international issues. "This highest-level visit will certainly have a high impact in increasing the momentum and positive trend of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Russia. "It sends the message that Malaysia is serious and committed to efforts to strengthen and improve bilateral relations with Russia in all fields, particularly strategic cooperation and people-to-people ties,' he said. Sultan Ibrahim is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday (Aug 5) and will be accorded a state welcome ceremony at the Kremlin on Wednesday (Aug 6), before holding an official meeting with Putin and attending a state banquet hosted by the Russian President. His Majesty is also scheduled to receive an audience from the Russian Automotive Technology Development Company as well as the Tochka Kipeniya Technology and Innovation Hub. On Friday (Aug 8), Sultan Ibrahim will travel to Kazan, the fifth largest city in Russia, to receive an audience from the Rais (Head) of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, at the Kazan Kremlin. Both parties are expected to discuss potential collaboration in the trade, investment, halal industry sectors and agricultural technology. His Majesty is also scheduled to attend a reception ceremony hosted by Minnikhanov and visit the Kazan Helicopter Plant to observe the manufacturing operations of civilian, defence and rescue helicopters. Russia is currently Malaysia's ninth-largest trading partner among European countries and 28th globally, with bilateral trade valued at RM11.46bil (US$2.48bil) in 2024. For the period January to June 2025, Malaysia-Russia trade volume was recorded at RM4.13bil (US$945.7mil). — Bernama
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Nvidia denies back-door features in its H20 chips after Beijing raises security concerns
Nvidia said its chips had no 'back doors' after China's cyberspace regulator interviewed company representatives over alleged security risks associated with its H20 chips, which were tailor-made for Chinese customers, although it remains unclear what impact Beijing's mistrust of the US firm will have over time. 'Cybersecurity is critically important to us,' an Nvidia representative said in an email to the South China Morning Post on Thursday night. 'Nvidia does not have 'back doors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.' The statement was in response to a regulatory move by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the agency responsible for the country's cybersecurity. The Chinese regulator said on Thursday that it had summoned and interviewed Nvidia regarding the potential tracking and remote control functions of its H20 chips, a surprise move as Nvidia had just received the green light from Washington to export the chips to clients in China. Nvidia's shares were down 0.8 per cent on Thursday in New York. The latest development highlights the challenges faced by Nvidia, the world's most valuable company in terms of market capitalisation, in trying to please both Washington and Beijing amid intensifying US-China rivalry in artificial intelligence and hi-tech. While China needs Nvidia chips to build out its computing infrastructure, Beijing remains committed to the long-term goal of tech self-sufficiency by reducing its reliance on imported American equipment and technologies. In the latest example of that, a group of Chinese semiconductor and AI companies – including Huawei Technologies, Cambricon Technologies and Moore Threads – formed an alliance to push for the adoption of locally developed processors for AI projects. China's cyberspace administration did not specify the source or evidence for its concerns about back-door security threats associated with Nvidia chips. In May, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill that would require makers of AI processors to incorporate tracking technology in their chips before export. The proposal aimed to address reports of US export-controlled AI chips being smuggled into China via third countries. But Nvidia has never said that its H20 chips have such tracking functions. The summoning of Nvidia was the latest example of the long-lasting mistrust between Beijing and Washington over the other's tech hardware. The US has banned the use of Huawei gear in the American telecommunications network, while new guidelines from the administration of US President Donald Trump implied that the use of Huawei's Ascend AI chips 'anywhere in the world' could be a violation of US export controls. For its part, China accelerated the process of replacing imported technologies in its key infrastructure facilities about a decade ago, after former US National Security Agency contract employee Edward Snowden exposed the global spying practices of the US. In May 2023, the CAC said products from another US chip giant, Micron Technology, failed a national security review, resulting in a sales ban of its products to key infrastructure operators in China. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
