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Tag: grab

  • Grab, Singapore Airlines announce reward points conversion

    Grab, Singapore Airlines announce reward points conversion

    RAB and Singapore Airlines (SIA), in a joint announcement said members of Grab’s GrabRewards programme will be able to convert their GrabRewards points into SIA Krisflyer miles in the near future.

    The announcement was coupled with the launch of a joint booking scheme between the companies.

    Starting Oct 3, passengers can now book rides to airports in six countries on Grab through SIA’s mobile app.

    The service allows passengers to book their Grab trips to airports in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, up to seven days before their flight.

    Passengers who open the SingaporeAir mobile app will be directed to the Grab app, with the airport filled in automatically as the destination.

    “We are thrilled to bring more convenience to our customers on the ground and in the air through our new partnership with Grab, while also offering KrisFlyer and GrabRewards members the opportunity to convert points to miles and redeem them for award flights or flight upgrades,” said Campbell Wilson, SIA senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

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  • HAWKR launches healthy ‘grab-and-go’ in heart of Quarray Bay

    HAWKR launches healthy ‘grab-and-go’ in heart of Quarray Bay

    Using the freshest ingredients and authentic flavours, HAWKR has reconceived Southeast Asian favourites for grab-and-go eating. Curries, soup noodle pots, Vietnamese and Thai baguettes and wraps, healthy breakfasts, bespoke HAWKR juices and tailored, house-blend coffees are on the menu at HAWKR’s new outlet in Quarry Bay.

    Inspired by the hawker food centres of Southeast Asia, serving a variety of regional dishes, HAWKR is newly opened on the ground floor of 36 Hoi Kwong Street, on the corner of Tong Chong Street and opposite the commercial complex of Taikoo Place.

    The contemporary grab-and-go takes on the region’s vibrant food culture from Singapore and Malaysia to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia, and brings an innovative and much needed takeaway concept to Hong Kong’s culinary scene.

    In partnership with the founder of Myanmar based lifestyle concept Pun+Projects and restaurateur, Ivan Pun, and consumer private equity professional Jake Astor, pop-up dining and private kitchen chef Mina Park’s nutritious, fresh take on Southeast Asian street food is appealing to time-pressed young professionals and office workers amid the commercial mini-metropolis of Taikoo Place.

    Each dish has been conceived by Mina using the freshest ingredients and HAWKR’s own recipes. No MSG, artificial flavours or preservatives are used in any of the menu items.

    The day-long menu starts with light breakfasts including healthy superfood sabja and chia seed puddings, with fresh fruit, yoghurts and pastries.

    HAWKR is also standing out from the ‘grab-and-go’ crowd by developing its own bespoke coffee blends using only the highest quality beans. Each blend, developed by their resident barista, has an Indonesian coffee base, as well as a mixture of other beans, including Ethiopian and Brazilian.

    HAWKR’s beans are roasted to order by local artisan roaster, Happy Bean Roastery.

    HAWKR avoids MSG and artificial flavouring, and strives to use only ingredients that “we would feel comfortable eating ourselves every day,” said Mina Park.

    “We have worked hard to create dishes that highlight the flavours of Southeast Asia and incorporate the gorgeous herbs and spices that I love.”

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  • Transport ministry reconsiders ride-sharing service ban

    Transport ministry reconsiders ride-sharing service ban

    The Ministry of Transport has sought opinions from ministries, localities and transportation associations on its recently imposed ban on app-based taxi ride-sharing service.

    The ministry recently sent a document to the ministries of police, justice, finance, industry and trade, information and communications; authorities of Hanoi, HCM City, Danang, Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa and the Vietnam auto transport association and Hanoi and HCM City taxi associations.

    In the document, the Ministry of Transport admitted that earlier the ministry requested Grab to stop its ride-sharing service called GrabShare. However, now, the ministry needed to gather the opinion after receiving Grab’s reports on advantages of the GrabShare. Grab has asked for the ministry’s permission for the firm to continue the service.

    The Ministry of Transport noted that the ministry wants to get the opinion about Grab’s proposal and also needs recommendations about fines for the violation in this service.

    Both Grab and Uber launched GrabShare and UberPool respectively in May this year. The services allow drivers to add additional passengers to their journey in addition to the person who makes the original booking. The service can help save customers around 30% compared to the original booking.

    But traditional taxi companies strongly oppose the service, saying that it is illegal and unfair competition.

    In June this year, the Ministry of Transport requested the ban on the ride-sharing service, explaining that under the ministry’s Circular 63, transport firms are only permitted to sign one contract per trip. If a GrabCar driver carries two passengers that agree to share their ride with each other, it means they are fulfilling two separate contracts, and therefore in breach of regulations, the ministry explained.

    The ministry spuriously claimed that sharing a car with a stranger may result in possible risks for passengers, although such practices are very common among traditional taxi companies at airports.

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  • Grab and Uber choking out traditional competition

    Grab and Uber choking out traditional competition

    Vietnamese taxi company Vinasun has seen a decrease in revenue and employees in the first half of this year, claiming it due to the unfair competition in terms of price posed by Grab and Uber.

    Traditional taxi companies, especially Vinasun and Mai Linh Group, are losing the fierce competition with Grab and Uber due to the dizzying rise in the number of Grab and Uber cabs.

    According to newswire Vneconomy, in recent years, the number of Uber and Grab taxis has exceeded the figure of Ho Chi Minh City’s taxi planning. Notably, Uber and Grab’s fleet has reached a total of 21,000, while Ho Chi Minh City’s taxi demand is 11,000-12,000 only.

    The oversupply of cabs has not only contributed to traffic jams and losses in tax revenue, but also created difficulties for traditional taxi companies.

    Now Uber and Grab are battling for dominance, while competing with traditional taxi brands at the same time.

    In general, UberX fares range about VND7,000-8,000 per kilometre, while GrabTaxi charges VND9,000-11,000 per kilometre. In spite of this difference in fares, both Uber and GrabTaxi have their own tactics to seize passengers.

    Mai Linh Group and Vinasun lament competition

    Vietnamese taxi company Vinasun has reported an decrease in revenue and employees in the first half of this year.

    According to newswire Vnexpress, in the second quarter of this year, Vinasun’s net revenue reached VND810 billion ($35.75 million) only, a record low since 2014. Besides, the after-tax profit in the second quarter fell 50 per cent on-year to VND16 billion ($706,299). The cumulative figure of the first six months was VND1.9 trillion ($706.29 million), signifying a decrease of 15 per cent on-year.

    Within the first six months of this year, the number of Vinasun’s employees decreased by approximately 8,000 people, to 9,179.

    According to a Vinasun representative, the company’s business results may remain gloomy until the end of this year.

    Regarding Mai Linh Group, according to its 2016 financial report, the company’s revenue was VND3.73 trillion ($164.65 million), equalling an increase of 32.3 per cent on-year. However, its pre-tax profit was VND61.12 billion ($2.74 million), a sharp 62 per cent fall due to increasing financial and management expenditures.

    Besides, Mai Linh claimed that the dizzying growth of the fleets of Grab and Uber makes it increasingly difficult for the company to perform.

    Traditional taxi companies persist

    In early June, Ta Long Hy, deputy general director of Vinasun, said the company would keep pressing litigation against Grab and Uber for unfair competition, a campaign that has recruited many other Vietnamese taxi companies from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

    Hy said that the company is gathering evidence. Besides, Vinasun would also propose that the government review its price management policies.

    Vinasun is not alone in its claim of unfair competition against Uber.

    In December 2016, as reported by indiatimes.com, the Indian equivalents of Uber, Ola and Meru, have separately urged government agencies to formulate policies which would undercut the ability of US-based Uber to offer steep discounts to passengers and generous incentives to drivers.

    On April 7, as reported by the Guardian, in a ruling that is subject to appeal, a court in Rome upheld a complaint filed by taxi unions and banned Uber because it contributes to unfair competition.

    The court gave Uber ten days to terminate the use of its various phone applications on Italian territory, along with promotion and advertising activities. However, the ban was suspended about a week after it was implemented as the company appealed. On May 26, the ban was officially lifted.

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  • Indonesia sets tariff ranges for online car-hailing services

    Indonesia sets tariff ranges for online car-hailing services

    Indonesia set minimum and maximum tariffs for online car-hailing services in a bid to ensure comparable pricing with conventional transport providers and address complaints of undercutting, sending shares of the nation’s top two taxi firms soaring.

    Ride-hailing services such as US group Uber Technologies Inc, Southeast Asia’s Grab and Indonesia’s GO-JEK have heavily subsidised their drivers in Indonesia in order to gain market share in the country of 250 million people, analysts say.

    The transport ministry said in a statement on Sunday that it had set a tariff range for online car-hailing services of 3,500-6,000 rupiah (S$0.35-S$0.62) per kilometre for the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra.

    For Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua, the range is 3,700-6,500 rupiah per kilometre.

    The regulation kicked in on July 1 and will be evaluated in the next six months, the ministry said. “There has to be a balance between conventional and online transport, so that has to be regulated,” Pudji Hartanto Iskandar, director-general of land transport at the ministry, told by phone.

    The news sent shares of Indonesia’s two biggest taxi operators, PT Blue Bird Tbk and PT Express Transindo Utama Tbk, surging on Monday.

    By 0340 GMT, Blue Bird shares jumped as much as 10.7 per cent, while Express gained as much as 4.3 per cent. The broader Jakarta stock exchange was 0.7 per cent higher.

    Drivers of Blue Bird and Express have called for a ban on ride-hailing services, claiming they were subject to less stringent requirements than conventional taxis.

    Uber said in an emailed statement it had yet to receive a copy of Indonesia’s regulations. “However, we remain committed to working with the government to find a path forward that accommodates the interests of riders and driver partners and supports innovation, competition and customer choice,” Uber said.

    Grab said it is ready to cooperate with the transport ministry and to comply with regulations. “After receiving direction from the government, we will review the policy and make the necessary adjustments to ensure that our driver-partners will still earn the best incomes when using the Grab platform,” it said in an email.

    GO-JEK did not provide an immediate comment. Blue Bird and Express did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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  • Vietnam bans new carpooling services from Uber, Grab

    Vietnam bans new carpooling services from Uber, Grab

    The authorities say sharing a car with a stranger comes with risks that passengers should not ignore. It’s yet another bumpy ride for popular ride-hailing services Uber and Grab.

    Their new carpool versions in Vietnam, UberPOOL and GrabShare, have been blocked by the Ministry of Transport, not long after their summer launch.

    Low-cost services that allow drivers to pick up an extra person along the way will create risks for the passenger, the ministry said in a new statement. stopping short of mentioning any such incidents.

    The ban is to protect Vietnamese passengers from what could happen, it said.

    If Uber and Grab disobey the rule, they will be fined VND4-6 million ($175-260) per ride.

    Last month, U.S.-based Uber and Malaysia-based Grab rolled out their carpooling services in Vietnam, promising to help passengers save 30 percent of payments by splitting the costs.

    Uber and Grab entered Vietnam in 2014. Since then, the two have repeatedly made headlines for regulatory issues.

    Exisiting service providers have not been happy. Vinasun and Mai Linh, the two major taxi companies in Vietnam, blame their business difficulties on Uber and Grab, saying the competition has been “unfair” because the foreign firms are not subjected to strict tax rules.

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  • Hanoi attempts to manage app-car services like taxis

    Hanoi attempts to manage app-car services like taxis

    Hanoi will manage the operation of app-based taxi service, including Uber and Grab, in a way similar to traditional taxis to guarantee a fair business environment.

    The move followed Hanoi, HCM City and Danang taxi associations petitioning the Ministry of Transport to call for a more equal business environment for taxi services.

    Hanoi People’s Committee have completed a plan on restricting the number of private vehicles for the 2017-2020 period and a vision until 2030 which is expected to be discussed and passed by the municipal people’s council at the meeting of early next month.

    According to the plan, the city will apply more strict management regulations on cars of below nine seats which operate under app-based taxi service in terms of vehicle number, quality and operational scope.

    App-based taxis will be managed in a way similar to traditional firms to ensure equal competition.

    The city’s transport department will check the specific number of Uber and Grab and if the figure exceeds the regulated level, the firms will have to stop operations.

    Uber and Grab taxis are also required to have logo, badge or their own paint colour. Signposts banning Uber, Grab maybe be put up on Hanoi streets.

    The associations called authorities to set the same rules for Uber and Grab.

    According to Do Quoc Binh, Chairman of Hanoi Taxi Association, over the past month, almost of 90 taxi firms in the city urged the association to seek the municipal trade union federation’s approval for their drivers to march through local streets in opposition to Uber and Grab.

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  • Taxi firms release apps to compete with Uber and Grab

    Taxi firms release apps to compete with Uber and Grab

    The firms have complained about supposed unfair competition with Uber and Grab. Vinasun said the average wage for drivers had dropped and many drivers had already quit.

    The firms demanded authorities apply measures to ensure fairer competition such as forcing Uber and Grab drivers to use taxi badges.

    Meanwhile, some firms have started to upgrade their technology to attract customers such as Thanh Cong in Hanoi that released a mobile app similar to Uber and Grab. Thanh Cong also allows customers to call for taxis from Facebook.

    They announced a fleet of cars without taxi badges like Uber to carry customers on routes that ban taxis. Thanh Cong said the management charge their drivers need to pay was only half of what Uber and Grab were collecting.

    Other taxi firms have also employed measures to compete in the growing market. Mai Linh, Vinasun and Taxi Group also released apps with similar purposes and functions. SAPA Thale Holding then released their own Uber-like app called APPP Passengers.

    The Ho Chi Minh City Taxi Association previously claimed that traditional taxi firms were being threatened as more personal cars were now in use by Uber and Grab than traditional taxi fleets. It asked the government to reconsider the open policy towards app-based taxi firms.

    “More worryingly, taxi firms have to bear various kinds of taxes including the VAT and corporate income tax. But the Grab and Uber’s taxes are only 4-5% of the traditional firms’,” the association claimed in a written document.

    Ha Huy Quang, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Transport accused Uber and Grab of not following the traffic planning and being opaque in tax duties.

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  • Uber, Grab conquer airport taxi market

    Uber, Grab conquer airport taxi market

    Uber launched a service package at the flat price of VND150,000 to carry passengers from any location in the inner city of Hanoi. In HCM City, Grab sometimes has a promotional fee of VND20,000 for trips to the airport.

    “You will have to pay VND130,000 for every trip to the airport with traditional taxi service, while it’ll take you VND70,000 to go with Grab, and sometimes the fee is just VND20,000 when Grab runs sale promotion campaign,” Tin, a passenger said.

    Uber, Grab cars flood airports

    Quang Huy in Cau Giay district, Hanoi said the service fee of VND150,000 set by Uber is ‘very reasonable’ which is much lower than the fee of VND200,000-250,000 he has to pay to traditional taxis.

    “I wonder if Uber gives any support to taxi drivers, so they can charge so little. However, as a customer, I really like this. And Uber’s services are acceptable,” he said.

    However, some passengers complained that it is difficult to catch Uber taxis. Uber drivers tend to refuse to serve passengers, saying that the VND150,000 service fee set by Uber is too low, which cannot bring profit to them.

    Hieu, a driver, said with the fee, drivers pocket VND40,000-50,000 for every trip to the airport after paying for fuel and other expenses. He would rather serve passengers within the city to get more profit.Uber drivers confirmed that they won’t serve passengers at the service fees set by Uber.

    Reporters also tried to hail Uber taxis and all drivers refused to serve when asked to go to Noi Bai Airport.

    Airport taxi firms complain about income 

    Traditional taxi drivers complained that their income has become unstable, though it is now the high season: children are finishing their academic year and people are beginning to travel.

    Quang Truong from Bac Ninh province, an airport taxi driver, said the appearance of Uber and Grab has badly affected his job. He could serve 10 trips a day on the Hanoi – Noi Bai route, but the number has been cut by half.

    However, Truong doesn’t think Uber and Grab drivers have better income.

    “More taxis in the market means higher competition and lower income,” he said.

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  • Ride-hailing firm Grab says likely to raise funds in near future

    Ride-hailing firm Grab says likely to raise funds in near future

    In five years, Grab’s network has grown from 40 drivers in one country to over 930,000 across 55 cities in seven countries including Vietnam.

    Ride-hailing firm Grab, Uber Technologies Inc’s largest rival in Southeast Asia, is likely to embark on a round of fundraising as it works to develop new offerings such as financial services, its chief executive told us on Tuesday.

    “I can’t specifically give a time line but I can imagine somewhere in the near future, there probably could be more money coming in. That’s probably quite likely,” Anthony Tan, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Grab, said in an interview after an event to mark the firm’s fifth anniversary.

    In five years, Grab’s network has grown from 40 drivers in one country to over 930,000 across 55 cities in seven countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

    The Singapore-based startup raised $750 million in a funding round in September, which sources said valued the firm at over $3 billion.

    Grab’s current investors include Chinese peer Didi Chuxing, China Investment Corp, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp and Vertex Ventures Holdings – a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd.

    Tan also said Grab is spending less on incentives per transaction even as competition with Uber increased after the U.S. firm exited the Chinese market last year.

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  • Vietnamese developers reveal latest ride-hailing app

    Vietnamese developers reveal latest ride-hailing app

    The new app will work along the same lines as Uber and Grab, but with better understanding of local travel habits, developers said. A locally developed ride-hailing app was unveiled on Friday in Vietnam, giving travelers yet another option in the rapidly expanding market.

    APPP, developed by Vietnam’s University of Transport Technology with funding from German-based investment company Sapa Thale, will work similarly to Uber and Grab but with a better understanding of local travel habits, its developers said.

    Uber and Grab are both popular services in Vietnam and considered major rivals to traditional taxi companies, which have reported losses due to the competition.

    While the other apps estimate the fare of each trip in advance, APPP allows the customer to negotiate the fare with eight drivers before booking, the developers said at the launch.

    The investor expects a door-opening fare of between VND8,000-8,500 ($0.35-0.38) and for fees to range from VND6,000-6,300 per kilometer.

    Sapa Thale said it has submitted an application to license the service with the transport ministry. No timeframe for a commercial launch has been revealed.

  • Vietnam’s biggest taxi firms blame Uber, Grab for losing business

    Vietnam’s biggest taxi firms blame Uber, Grab for losing business

    The traditional taxi companies describe the competition as ‘harsh’ and ‘unfair’. Vietnam’s major taxi company Mai Linh has reported the worst business in five years while another big player Vinasun projected a 50-percent drop in profit this year, and the two blamed competition with ride-hailing apps.

    Despite arriving late in Vietnam’s taxi market, Uber and Grab have been winning significant footholds for their fare transparency, quality of service and fashionable technology.

    The unlisted Ho Chi Minh City-based Mai Linh said its transport business lost nearly VND84 billion ($3.7 million) last year, after making a profit of VND325 million in 2015.

    The company’s net profit last year, plunged nearly 70 percent in the same period to VND43 billion, the firm’s financial report showed.

    Ho Huy, chairman of the company’s management board, said Uber and Grab were key reasons to have made 2016 a difficult year for Mai Linh and other traditional taxi firms.

    He said the market has seen “harsh competition”, with unfair taxation. Uber, for example, was paying a 3-percent value added tax, while taxi firms said they have to pay a 10-percent VAT and 20 percent corporate income tax. Uber now keeps 20 percent revenue of a ride and sends 80 percent to the driver.

    Huy also blamed Uber and Grab for worsening traffic in Ho Chi Minh City by adding 25,000 cars to the streets in recent years.

    Vinasun, also based in Ho Chi Minh City, said competition with ride-hailing apps has made it lower the profit target for 2017, the third cut in a row.

    Vinasun’s gross profit is now projected at VND205 billion, down 48 percent from 2016, based on the company’s plan to be submitted to the shareholder meeting scheduled late this month.

    But the blaming has received little support from the public, as many people said they were unhappy with poor and unreliable services provided by taxi firms, such as drivers refusing to serve short distance or failing to show up regardless of clients’ booking.

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  • Grab Indonesia buys e-commerce startup Kudo

    Grab Indonesia buys e-commerce startup Kudo

    Ride-hailing firm Grab Indonesia has acquired e-commerce startup Kudo for an undisclosed amount, striking its first deal since pledging to invest US$700 million in its largest market.

    Kudo helps consumers without bank accounts to shop online by connecting them with online merchants and other service providers across 500 cities and towns.

    Based in Singapore, Grab says it plans to accelerate the expansion of Kudo’s network while bringing more riders and drivers on to its own platform. The two companies also plan to explore new financial products such as consumer loans and insurance.

    Former payment-processing company Euronet Worldwide executive Jason Thompson has been hired by Grab to head GrabPay. This digital wallet for riders was introduced last year.

    Grab’s Indonesian investment promise entails building its digital payments network over the next four years in a bid to win over the 260 million people in its largest market. The company’s car- and motorcycle-hailing businesses grew more than 600 per cent in Indonesia last year.

    Valued at more than US$3 billion, Grab intends to set aside as much as US$100 million to bankroll early-stage domestic startups in mobile and financial services. It has started establishing research centres in Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta to complement engineering offices in Beijing, Seattle and Singapore.

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  • Kudo to Grab in battle for Indonesian market

    Kudo to Grab in battle for Indonesian market

    South-east Asia’s largest ride-hailing company Grab has bought Indonesian online payment start-up, Kudo, as the company kicks off a battle with rivals Uber and Go-Jek for market share with the first investment of a US$700 million (S$978 million) pledge in its largest market over the next four years.

    Grab did not disclose the value of the deal announced yesterday, but Reuters put the figure at over US$100 million.

    In a statement, Grab said the acquisition “solidifies (its) leadership in digital payments” with Kudo’s team and platform being integrated with its online mobile payment service, GrabPay.

    Founded in 2014, Kudo allows less tech-savvy consumers and those without bank accounts to shop online and pay for bills such as utilities and phone credits through its network of “agents”, who help to make those payments to merchants and suppliers on their behalf.

    It currently has 400,000 “agents” in 500 towns and cities across Indonesia.

    Combining Kudo’s presence in smaller cities and rural areas through these agents, GrabPay’s customer base will provide “millions of people across Indonesia with increased access to convenient cashless payments and new income opportunities, while also unlocking compelling new ways to boost online spending”, Grab’s president Ming Maa said.

    Grab said it plans to support and accelerate the expansion of Kudo’s network of agents while leveraging on its reach to bring in more riders, drivers and GrabPay users onto the Grab platform.

    Kudo also plans to explore opportunities to grow its financial services offering, including insurance and consumer loans. Its chief executive, Mr Albert Lucius, a former analyst at Goldman Sachs and product engineer at Apple, said in the same statement that the acquisition “creates immediate synergies with our existing business”.

    “We are excited to work together to bring the ease and convenience of cashless payments to more Indonesians than ever before,” he added.

    SPH Media Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Singapore Press Holdings, was among the investors who sold their stake in Kudo. SPH Media Fund first invested in the Indonesia-based e-commerce platform in April 2015 and participated in another funding round in December 2015.

    Singapore-based Grab offers car and motorcycle ride-hailing services in South-east Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Go-Jek is a market leader in motorbike taxi services in Indonesia. Uber remains a small player, introducing motorcycle-taxi services only in April last year.

    Transport analysts in Jakarta told The Straits Times the acquisition illustrates how ride-hailing providers were extending their businesses beyond transportation.

    The rivalry has been particularly intense between Go-Jek and Grab.

    Since its launch in 2015, Go-Jek has been setting itself apart from its two other rivals by diversifying into various services, allowing its customers to buy food and groceries, hire beauticians and masseusses, and book cleaners.

    Mr Yoga Adiwinarto, a director at the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, said: “Grab doesn’t want to lose out. But since building an e-payment system takes time, the easiest way is to buy a company that has already established itself in this area.”

    “After this, I’m sure there will be huge innovations and Grab will expand into service sectors such as mini-markets and the selling of train tickets and flights too,” he added.

    Dr Ellen Tangkudung, lecturer at the University of Indonesia, noted that customers would only stand to gain from the competition.

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  • SM Supermalls teams with Grab

    SM Supermalls teams with Grab

    SM Supermalls has partnered with ride-hailing and multi-service mobile platform Grab in a special promotion.

    Grab

    The companies will offer 10,000 Grab coupons in Metro Manila and such key cities as Bacolod, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo. New users are offered free rides while existing Grab customers receive half-price rides.

    “Our collaboration with Grab marks not just a beginning of a bigger, long-term partnership, but also gives a glimpse of what our customers can expect in the coming months,” says SM Supermalls senior VP for marketing Jonjon San Agustin.

    Grab booths are available at 20 SM Supermalls nationwide, and the coupons are part of a campaign to reward shoppers. The SM Supermalls mobile app is free on Android and iPhone.

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