Grab chief executive officer Anthony Tan said the coronavirus is creating significant challenges for the South-East Asian ride-hailing startup that will require "tough decisions” about cutting costs and managing capital.

"Covid-19 is the single biggest crisis to affect Grab in the eight years of our existence,” Tan said in a message to investors and partners on Monday. "It has had an unprecedented impact on our operations, our business and the livelihoods of our partners.”

The Singapore-based company is the most valuable startup in South-East Asia as it has expanded beyond ride-hailing into food delivery and other services. In February, Grab raised more than US$850mil to fund its push into financial services in the region.

But demand for ride-hailing services has collapsed as many cities across South-East Asia are in lockdowns. Grab has been trying to offset some of that shortfall with food delivery, which is experiencing a surge in demand as people stay at home.

"There will be tough decisions and trade-offs to make as we continue to evaluate its impact on our business,” Tan said. "We will right-size our costs, manage our capital efficiently and make the necessary operational adjustments in order to weather the storm and carve out a path to profitability.”

Grab’s primary backer has been SoftBank Group Corp, the Japanese conglomerate that has suffered from setbacks at WeWork and other startups. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has been among the biggest backers of ride-hailing companies, including Uber Technologies Inc, Didi Chuxing and Grab.

 - Bloomberg