[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] DPC is showing strong performance. The stock price appears to be influenced by expectations of benefits from the increased corporate value of 'Grab,' a vehicle-hailing and delivery platform in Southeast Asia. The private equity firm Stick Investment invested $200 million (approximately 220 billion KRW) in Grab in September last year. Stick Investment is a company wholly owned (100% stake) by DPC.
As of 11:16 AM on the 31st, DPC is trading at 12,750 KRW, up 5.37% from the previous day.
On the same day, a media outlet reported that Grab's fintech division, Grab Financial Group (GFG), sold 100 million insurance policies in Southeast Asia in less than two years. Since April 2019, GFG has been selling vehicle insurance that consumers can purchase by subscribing to insurance for 0.30 Singapore dollars (approximately 250 KRW) when booking a ride ticket through the app. They also offer travel insurance products with premiums starting from 2.50 Singapore dollars (approximately 2,100 KRW) per day.
In Thailand, they launched a digital and instant cash loan solution called Merchant Cash Advance (MCA), a card sales receivables-backed loan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It was analyzed to have helped businesses sustain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the fourth quarter of last year, they attracted attention by launching a hospital financial product called Hospital Cash Cover in Indonesia.
GFG issued a statement saying, "Thanks to COVID-19, many users have increased their subscription performance for online products," but also noted, "The mass adoption of digital financial services depends on how well companies can truly build accessible and affordable financial services."
Grab is reportedly discussing a listing through a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). If the merger is successful, the merged company's value is expected to be between $35 billion and $40 billion.
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