Daily Briefing: Grab launches personal assistance service in the Philippines; Malaysian developer to buy 17 sites for $60.26m

And here's why Raffles Medical investors have to pay 143% premium for its stocks.

From Tech in Asia:

Grab further expands its Southeast Asia footprint with the beta testing of GrabAssistant that will turn drivers into personal shoppers for users.

"GrabAssistant has been undergoing beta testing in the Philippines since last month. This new feature within the main Grab app turns the firm’s driver-partners into personal shoppers for users who are too busy (or simply can’t be bothered) to head to the store themselves.

Drivers can also be recruited to stand in line for users, allowing them to avoid wasted time queueing – a business idea that has already gained popularity in India.

Users enter a pick-up point, a task or shopping list, and a delivery location, and then can communicate with their drivers through the in-app chat feature. Drivers – who are enlisted from the firm’s GrabExpress same-day delivery service – can buy and deliver goods of up to 1,000 pesos (just over US$18.70)."

Read more here.

From The Motley Fool:

Raffles Medical investors will pay a 143% premium as the firm's stock price is at $1.01 which is trading at a PE ratio of 25.5 times.

"At a stock price of $1.01, Raffles Medical is trading at a PE ratio of 25.5 times. This is significantly higher than the SPDR STI ETF’s PE ratio of 10.5. Generally, it’s very difficult to find growth companies trading at P/E ratios below that of the market. Still, we want to make sure that the price we pay is fair to give us a reasonable return.

In the case of Raffles Medical, investors must decide whether paying a 143% premium to the market average is a reasonable price. Personally, I find the price a little too steep."

Read more here.

From Deal Street Asia:

A unit of Malaysian property firm Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) is set to buy 17 residential sites in Singapore for $60.26m that will be developed for exclusive mid-rise apartments.

"Property developer Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) has announced that its associate company Tiara Land is planning to buy 17 adjacent property parcels in Singapore for $60.26m (US$44.08 million) to develop exclusive mid-rise apartments, said SDB in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The properties are located in the prime District 13 in Singapore and are close to Potong Pasir MRT, Woodleigh MRT and Boon Keng MRT."

Read more here.