The ordering experiences with foodpanda are not always well. Human resources personnel for Hinduja Global Solutions, a BPO company, Denisse Lauren, found some hiccups ordering via foodpanda during this year’s Holy Week.
She tried ordering her favorite meal via KFC, until the foodpanda app delayed her orders several times. She ordered 2 a.m. in her country, as her work is the nightshift, but she only received her order at, get this, 7 a.m., after making lots of follow-ups.
Well, foodpanda that time sent a reminder that there would be delays in deliveries since it’s the Holy Week, but the time of delay in her order is so much over-the-top. GrabFood had little delays during the same week.
So, when foodpanda sold itself to Grab in Taiwan for $600 million, it’s their best decision ever.
The New York-listed Grab recently acquired foodpanda Taiwan from Delivery Hero, but Grab Taiwan, in particular.
Anthony Tan, the co-founder and CEO of Grab, told Ridesharing Forum via their release, “Our longstanding expertise in managing complex delivery logistics for dense and high-traffic cities is well-suited for Taiwan’s bustling cities. Taiwan’s population of approximately 23 million also has a high demand for mobile-first services, similar to the Southeast Asian consumers whom Grab serves every day. We see a significant opportunity to grow the food and groceries delivery scene here.”
Living on the applause
The deal came out of a necessity to better up the services of foodpanda Taiwan, but the comments on this are two-sided.
In one side, experts applauded this, as did Lauren, since, first, this deal marks Grab’s first-ever market entry outside Southeast Asia, expanding it into the East Asian country as its ninth market. This deal will be completed in the second half of this year, 2026, after regulatory approvals.
Under the deal’s terms, Grab acquired foodpanda’s entire, the whole delivery-platform business in Taiwan on a cash-free, debt-free basis, allowing Grab to capture its operations across 21 cities and its busines worth $1.8 billion last year.
Securities experts, with bankers applauded the deal, saying it is a “strategically compelling and well-priced deal,” and “directionally” optimistic. However, there’s a caveat.
Taiwan vs. China
Not every party is happy about the deal, since some specialists are saying this might trigger the politician tensions between Taiwan and China. As you know, Taiwan may alternately be called Chinese Taipei, but it has deep conflicts with China.
Grab, which is headquartered in Singapore, has strong and deep ties with autonomous driving company WeRide, and financial analysts are saying that this acquisition is like China taking over the food delivery operations in Taiwan. Odd.
Grab Indonesia
Meanwhile, in other Grab news, Grab Indonesia has introduced the newest regulatory cap on ridesharing commissions, cutting the maximum rate from 20 percent to eight percent and adding fresh social protections for drivers.
The implications of this? Well, at the same time, these Indonesia’s new rules are bound to reshape the commission structure and driver protections in a core country for Grab’s ride-hailing operations. It might discourage several groups. Want to share your thoughts? Sign up for your account today on Ridesharing Forum!