OYO raises $100 million from Singapore-based Grab's arm A1 Holding; eyes expansion in Southeast Asia

Gurugram-based hospitality firm OYO raised about $100 million (over Rs 700 crore) from Singapore-based transportation services provider Grab’s arm, said media reports OYO raised $100 million from Cayman Islands-based A1 Holding Inc, an entity controlled by Singapore’s ride hailing firm Grab, according to data sourced by business intelligence firm Tofler, reported Moneycontrol. [caption id=“attachment_2580470” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ritesh Agarwal, founder, OYO[/caption] Both OYO and Grab have earmarked Indonesia and Southeast Asia as their key markets. In October this year, OYO said it had forayed into Indonesia and also confirmed an investment of over $100 million in the country as part of its expansion in Southeast Asia. “We intend to invest over $100 million in this high growth market and plan to expand to the top 35 cities in Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Bali, over the next 15 months,” OYO founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said earlier. Indonesia is one of the top choices for both global and Indian travellers and with OYO’s market learning and expertise the company is ready to tap this opportunity, he added. OYO also looks forward to create over 60,000 (direct and indirect) livelihood opportunities in Indonesia, Agarwal said. The five-year-old startup for booking hotel rooms was aiming to become the world’s largest hotel chain by 2023 as it expands into newer countries in the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe, Agarwal said on Thursday. Oyo, which began with one hotel in Gurgaon in 2013, has grown to over 330,000 rooms in 500 cities globally. While India was its first playground, it now has more rooms in China. In India, it operates in over 180 cities with 143,000 rooms. In China, where it began operations last November, it has expanded to over 265 cities with 180,000 rooms. “Three years back India’s standalone growth was 1.6 times, last year the growth was 2.3 times. This year we are trending roughly 3 times and we are going to project a little bit higher than 3 times for the coming fiscal years, so we are growing faster on a bigger base because of the network effect,” Agarwal said, adding the occupancy is 65 percent. — With PTI inputs