How Vertex lured Grab to Singapore

It's one of the hottest tech names in Southeast Asia.

Grab, previously known as GrabTaxi, has emerged as a genuine, homegrown rival to US behemoth Uber in the six Southeast Asian countries it operates in. A $750 million funding round in September, led by Japan's Softbank, valued it at $3 billion.

But long before it became a hot name, Grab founder Anthony Tan took the decision to move the company from his native Malaysia south to Singapore.

The move came after it secured $10 million of series A funding from Vertex Venture Holdings, Singapore's biggest venture capital firm and a...