Alibaba in talks to invest $3 bln in Grab

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is in talks to invest $3 billion into Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings Inc, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Grab declined to comment, while Alibaba was not immediately available to respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company, which has an estimated valuation of $14 billion and counts SoftBank Group Corp as one of its backers, expanded into financial services, food delivery and mobile payments over the last few years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic hurt its mainstay ride-hailing business.

In June, Grab announced a 5% reduction in staff numbers as it cut costs amid slower growth.