Anthony Tan grabs attention of global investors with media savvy CNBC appearance

Grab co-founder Anthony Tan has gone global with his hugely successful super app. But when you list your US$40 billion company on the world's largest stock exchange, you also need to be able to speak to a global audience.

Tan has consistently demonstrated that ability, which is why we have nominated him for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2021.

We are used to the Grab super app in Southeast Asia, which helps you do everything from buying groceries to ordering a taxi and paying your bills, but people in the US have never even heard of such a thing.

So how does Tan get his point across in an interview with American network CNBC?

Tan gives a confident and eloquent take on Grab as a super app, which is why we have nominated him for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2021.

Watch and read below for my assessment.

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We launched the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards in 2018 to recognise local business leaders for their communications skills, and to showcase authentic and credible home-grown communicators.

Supported by the Asia Pacific Association of Communications Directors and joining us this year – the Investor Relations Professionals Association Singapore and the Public Relations and Communications Association - we highlight shining examples for other local business leaders to follow, and to build a culture of excellence in communication, to maximise the potential of Asian companies in the Asian Century.

Nominations close October 31, 2021 at www.mediasavvy.asia.

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Tan is confident throughout the interview. He makes constant eye contact with the camera, rather than looking at his Zoom screen, engaging with the interviewer and speaking with conviction.

He took the interview standing up, which ensures his posture is better and the camera is at eye level. No double chins here!

Key Messages

Tan also makes sure to slip in his key messages.

He begins the interview by recalling how initial potential investors were unable to even find Southeast Asia on the map.

Now Grab is the largest US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company, and he says it shows the opportunities that are on offer in the region.

He also says the share offering is a validation of the super app strategy.

Providing Context

Knowing that most of the CNBC audience in the United States would not know much or have even heard about super apps, Tan pauses before his next answer to describe and provide background information.

Giving Examples

He explains using concise examples: “In Southeast Asia you book a car with Grab (the app), you are ordering your food with Grab, you’re investing with Grab, in the car with one dollar, you’re buying insurance, you’re paying your bills, all in one app.”

Following this, he talks about how the Grab app benefits drivers, saying “the driver is able to toggle between food delivery, grocery delivery - helping you with domestic remittances, with multiple jobs - that way the driver has very little dead time, and it is just a much more efficient delivery network.”

If you know Anthony Tan, share this article with him and congratulate him on being nominated for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2021.