*UBER SELLS SE ASIA BUSINESS TO GRAB*

RIDE HAILING firm Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said on Monday-

Marking the US companies second retreat from an Asian Market.

The industry's first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people. puts pressure on Indonesia's Go--Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc's Google and China's Tencent Holdings Ltd.

A shake-up in Asia's fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry became likely earlier this year when  Japan-based Softbank Group Corp's Vision Fund made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber.

''It was really a very independent decision by both companies,'' Grab President Ming Maa told Reuters, adding that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was ''highly supportive''.

Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Singapore-based Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab's board. Grab was valued at an estimated $6 billion.

''It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology,'' Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

For Grab, the deal will help its meal-delivery service, which will now merge with Uber Eats, compete with Go-Jek, according to a person close to Grab.

Go-Jek is a dominant player in Indonesia, the region's biggest economy, and has rapidly expanded beyond ride hailing to digital payments, food delivery, on demand cleaning and massage.

''Go-Jek  is such a different app, with different behaviors, it is something I can't see Grab competing with well in Indonesia for a long time, like at least a year,'' said Vinnie Lauria, a partner at Southeast Asia's Golden Gate Ventures.

Ride-hailing companies throughout Asia have relied heavily on discounts and promotions, driving down profit margins and increasing pressure for consolidation.

Uber, which is preparing for a potential initial public offering in 2019, lost $4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition as well as regulatory crackdown in Europe. [Agencies].