A surge in online orders of fried chicken and pizzas during Ramadan has provided relief for south-east Asia’s two biggest technology start-ups, whose main business of ride-hailing has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Muslim holy month of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts — which drew to a close over the weekend — is usually a period of peak demand for Indonesia-based Gojek as people travel, celebrate and buy gifts. But the company, along with Singapore-based rival Grab, has been hit hard as customers stay at home during the health crisis… Indonesia is a critical market for Gojek and Grab but the world’s fourth most populous country has struggled to contain its outbreak of Covid-19…. Grab, valued at $14 billion and backed by Japanese tech group SoftBank, has asked employees to consider fewer hours or accept unpaid leave. Gojek, valued at $10 billion, said it has been “adversely impacted”… The pandemic has encouraged Gojek to shift focus to meal deliveries… Gojek recorded a 10 per cent jump in meal deliveries in Indonesia between late April and the beginning of Ramadan…? Grab said merchants on its app reported a double-digit increase in orders during Ramadan compared with last year. That included a record 4.2 million servings of fried chicken in the first three weeks of the religious festival…?

Mercedes Ruehl?