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December 1, 2021

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Uber ends food runs in HKSAR

Online food delivery platform Uber Eats said yesterday it will quit Hong Kong at the end of 2021, ending five years of a battle for a share of the competitive food delivery market.

Uber announced the “difficult decision” in an online statement, which gave no reason for why it was winding down operations.

The company said it would now redouble its commitment to its ride-sharing in Hong Kong, a business that remains in a legal grey area.

Launched in 2016, Uber Eats was a latecomer to Hong Kong’s food delivery sector where Foodpanda and Deliveroo had a head start and have since become the two dominant players.

According to data platform Measurable AI, Uber Eats managed only 5 percent market share compared with Deliveroo’s 44 percent and Foodpanda’s 51 percent.

Hong Kong was one of the first international cities where Uber’s core ride-share business set up shop as it rapidly expanded outside the United States.

In a city with a reputation for less than accommodating taxi drivers who often refuse rides and only accept cash, the app became a major success with many Hong Kongers.

But Uber has faced staunch opposition from local taxi groups.

And a government that has declined to legalize the ride-share industry.

In 2018, a group of 24 Uber drivers were convicted and fined for carrying passengers without a hire-car permit.

Uber continues to operate in Hong Kong and police enforcement is patchy, with periodic crackdowns.




 

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