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Uber has exited the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market with a sale to Singapore-based Grab, which also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia:
Uber is selling its South East Asia ride-share and food delivery businesses to regional rival Grab. The move marks a further retreat from international operations for Uber, after it sold its China business to local rival Didi Chuxing. Both firms describe the deal as a win for their passengers, but analysts warn it could mean higher prices.
Grab is South East Asia's most popular ride-sharing firm with millions of users across eight countries. Under the terms of the deal, Uber will take a 27.5% stake in Singapore-based Grab. Uber's chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, will also join Grab's board.
SoftBank is the biggest investor in both companies, and could also engineer an Uber exit from India, where it competes with Ola:
[...] real victory unquestionably belongs to Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group Corp., the single-biggest investor in both companies. As I wrote earlier this month, by engineering a retreat for the U.S. company before any more bloodletting for market share, Son ensures that six-year-old Grab will emerge as an early champion in a winner-takes-all business.
A faster path to profit for Uber could also boost its valuation ahead of a planned IPO next year. But at what cost? Having already surrendered China to Didi Chuxing, beating a retreat from Southeast Asia is a precursor to perhaps losing India, the lone remaining jewel in Uber's once-flourishing Asian empire.
In India, once again, SoftBank is the largest investor in Uber's main rival, Ola. Competition between the two apps has become ridiculous. For all the PR gobbledygook on how happy Uber and Ola drivers are, the reality is that many who took out bank loans to acquire new cars are hurting badly. There's a glut of ride-hailing cars; wages have collapsed. Banks are collecting on "DUD," -- my moniker for "distressed Uber debt" -- by repossessing vehicles.
Uber's new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, says there will be no more exits from global markets (in addition to China, Uber also left Russia). But SoftBank may continue to pursue a strategy of exiting emerging and less profitable markets in exchange for large stakes in competitors.
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(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 26 2018, @10:27PM (2 children)
No surprise really, Uber and it's ilk can only make money if there is limited or no competition.
Uber is dying where I live because taxis were deregulated 25 years ago, so provide the same service Uber does, but allow the drivers to make a living.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 26 2018, @10:48PM (1 child)
Where about is this?
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 26 2018, @10:59PM
Auckland, New Zealand. We went through a period of way too many awful taxis, but the market largely sorted that out.