Grab plunges 21% in biggest Wall Street debut by a Southeast Asian company

The Singaporean startup closed down nearly 21% Thursday as it began trading on New York’s Nasdaq.Grab went public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal — in which Grab raised $4.5 billion, and was valued at nearly $40 billion — was the biggest of its kind on record, according to data provider Dealogic. It’s also the largest US market debut by a Southeast Asian company. The previous record was held by an Indonesian satellite company, which raised nearly $1.2 billion in 1994, according to data from Refinitiv. Under the deal, Grab merged with Altimeter Growth Corp (Grab Grab has previously said that it chose to go public in the United States, rather than in Southeast Asia, because it wanted to tap into a larger investor base.But Oey said Thursday that the company wouldn’t rule out the possibility of listing on another exchange at some point. “We’re open to Southeast Asia and other opportunities,” he added.Still, the executive emphasized that the company would take it one step at a time.”For us right now it’s [about] making sure that we execute the business and stay focused, and support those shareholders who are in the ride with us,” said Oey.– Jill Disis and Julia Horowitz contributed to this report.