Grab Philippines country marketing head Cindy Toh explains Grab's food delivery service during its launch in Manila. Handout

MANILA — Grab said it was bringing food delivery and cashless payments to the Philippines, after buying out Uber's ride-hailing operations.

GrabFood and GrabPay is part of its "smart city" vision, where users can book rides, order food and pay for services by just tapping on their mobile phones, Grab officials said.

"GrabFood is the next major step in our move to serve the daily needs of consumers. Food delivery is a natural extension of our transport offerings," Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said in a statement.

The food delivery service was launched in Jakarta in 2016 and was later beta-tested in Bangkok, where it became a "revenue driver" for partner merchants, Grab said.

GrabFood connects users to nearby restaurants and allows real time delivery tracking and will compete with Food Panda and Lalamove.

Grab said it partnered with online marketplace Shoppee for same day delivery using GrabExpress.

The company said it also launched a beta version of GrabAssistant, where users can book a personal shopper. Honest Bee is offering a similar service in the country.

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