Uber selling Southeast Asian business to regional rival Grab

Ride-hailing giant Uber has sold its south-east Asia business to its leading rival Grab marking a further retreat from international operations.

It comes after Uber also pulled out of China and Russia in recent years and as new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi attempts to turn the firm#s fortunes around.

Under the terms of the deal, Uber will take a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab, which operates ride-sharing, food delivery, bicycle hire and financial services.

US firm Uber will also have a seat on Grab’s board.

Ride-hailing giant Uber is selling its Southeast Asia operation to its leading rival Grab marking a further retreat from international operations. Under the terms of the deal, Uber will take a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab, which operates ridesharing and food delivery services

Grab functions across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia, handling more than a billion transactions a year.

Chief executive and co-founder Anthony Tan said the Uber deal ‘marks the beginning of a new era’ in using mobile businesses to provide an array of services. 

While Uber is the world’s biggest ride-hailing company, it proved no match in south- east Asia by homegrown upstart Grab, which knew better how to navigate the chaotic highways and byways of an eclectic region.

‘Grab is more familiar with its home territory, south-east Asia,’ said Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with CIMB Private Bank.

‘They saw the Uber model and tweaked it to adapt to local conditions, giving Southeast Asians what they want.’

After a years-long fight that cost both companies huge sums as they aggressively slashed fares and rolled out special offers, Uber threw in the towel Monday and sold its ride-sharing and food delivery services to Grab for an undisclosed sum.

Grab said it plans to expand its food delivery business to Singapore and Malaysia after integrating it with Uber Eats.

Grab functions across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia, handling more than a billion transactions a year

Grab functions across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia, handling more than a billion transactions a year

WHAT IS GRAB AND WHY IS IT BUYING UBER’S SOUTHEAST ASIA OPERATIONS?

Founded in 2012 as GrabTaxi, Grab operates ridesharing, food delivery, bicycle hire and financial services in parts of Asia.

It functions across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia, handling a billion transactions a year.

In November 2017, Grab claimed to have two million driving partners, 68 million mobile app downloads, and 3.5 million daily rides.

US ride-hailing service Uber has announced it is selling its Southeast Asia operations to Grab in a landmark deal.

Founded in 2012 as GrabTaxi, Grab operates ridesharing, food delivery, bicycle hire and financial services in parts of Asia. Pictured are models with Grab cars in Phnom Penh during the firm's launch in Cambodia in December 2017

Founded in 2012 as GrabTaxi, Grab operates ridesharing, food delivery, bicycle hire and financial services in parts of Asia. Pictured are models with Grab cars in Phnom Penh during the firm’s launch in Cambodia in December 2017

Under the terms of the deal, Uber will take a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab.

Uber may be the world’s biggest ride-hailing company but it was left in the dust in Southeast Asia by homegrown upstart Grab, which knew better how to navigate the chaotic highways and byways of an eclectic region.

The deal enables Uber to keep a foothold in the increasingly affluent market of 640 million people while cutting its losses.

Grab said it plans to expand its food delivery business to Singapore and Malaysia after integrating it with Uber Eats.

The company also plans to expand GrabCycle for shared bicycles and ‘personal mobility devices’ and is planning GrabShuttle services for on-demand bus routes.

The move marks part of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s plan to turn the company’s fortunes around after a slew of scandals last year.

Since becoming CEO in September, Khosrowshahi has manoeuvred to make the company profitable ahead of an initial public offering expected next year. 

The company also plans to expand GrabCycle for shared bicycles and ‘personal mobility devices’ and is planning GrabShuttle services for on-demand bus routes.

Uber drivers will switch to the Grab online platform and the Uber app will stop working in Asia in two weeks.

Since taking the top job last year, Mr Khosrowshahi has been attempting to make the company profitable before a mooted initial public offering.

Grab said it plans to expand its food delivery business to Singapore and Malaysia after integrating it with Uber Eats. Pictured are  Grab and Uber offices  in Singapore, where Grab's headquarters are based

Grab said it plans to expand its food delivery business to Singapore and Malaysia after integrating it with Uber Eats. Pictured are Grab and Uber offices in Singapore, where Grab’s headquarters are based

Uber saw an annual net loss of £3.2 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2017 in the wake of several scandals, including the departure of its co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick.

The deal enables Uber to keep a foothold in the increasingly affluent market of 640 million people while cutting its losses.

‘It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology to create the best customer experience on the planet,’ Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

It comes after Uber also pulled out of China and Russia in recent years and as new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi attempts to turn its fortunes around

It comes after Uber also pulled out of China and Russia in recent years and as new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi attempts to turn its fortunes around

The deal was dismaying to many in Asia who have often compared the rival apps in search of the best deal. In this image an Uber rider talks with a Grab rider in Jakarta, Indonesia

The deal was dismaying to many in Asia who have often compared the rival apps in search of the best deal. In this image an Uber rider talks with a Grab rider in Jakarta, Indonesia

HOW DID AN UBER AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE HIT AND KILL A WOMAN IN ARIZONA?

A self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in the first death involving a fully autonomous test vehicle on March 19, 2018.

The accident prompted the ride-hailing company to suspend road-testing of such cars in the US and Canada. 

The Volvo SUV was in self-driving mode with a human back-up operator behind the wheel in Tempe when a woman walking a bicycle was hit.

Elaine Herzberg, 49, died in hospital.

Police have said that the victim, 49 year old Elaine Herzberg, stepped out in front of the car suddenly and they do not believe the car was to blame. 

Uber suspended its self-driving vehicle testing in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.

The testing has been going on for months as car makers and technology companies compete to be the first with cars that operate on their own.

Uber’s self-driving car crash that led to the death of a mother-of-two could have been avoided, driverless vehicle experts have claimed.

Cortica, a firm that develops artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles, has analysed the dash cam video.

The company concludes the car, which failed to brake or swerve before the collision, had enough time to react and potentially save Ms Herzberg’s life.

Speaking to CNET, Cortica’s CEO Igal Raichelgauz said the firm’s self-driving AI system detected Ms Herzberg 0.9 seconds before impact.

At this point the car was around 50 feet (15 metres) away.

He said the autonomous car’s cameras and radar system should have had enough time to pick up the pedestrian and react to the situation.

Driverless cars are fitted with a system of cameras, radar and lidar sensors that allow them to ‘see’ their surroundings and detect traffic, pedestrians and other objects.

An AI computer system then decides what actions the car takes to avoid a collision – a setup that is supposed to work as well at night as during the day.

A top executive for the maker of Lidar sensors used on Uber’s self-driving car said she was ‘baffled’ as to why the vehicle failed to recognise Ms Herzberg.

The deal was dismaying to many in Asia who have often compared the rival apps in search of the best deal.

Grab has been seeking to dominate the regional market for car and motorbike hailing and has expanded into other areas.

It recently announced plans to partner with a Japanese credit card company to provide credit to millions of people without bank accounts.

The deal enables Uber to keep a foothold in the increasingly affluent market of 640 million people while cutting its losses. In this image an Uber rider checks used helmets at a store in Jakarta, Indonesia

The deal enables Uber to keep a foothold in the increasingly affluent market of 640 million people while cutting its losses. In this image an Uber rider checks used helmets at a store in Jakarta, Indonesia

In Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy and most populous country with more than 250 million people, it’s in a fierce battle for customers with local app Go-Jek, which has backing from Google and Tencent.

In China, Uber has sold off its local business to competitor Didi Chuxing, also taking a stake in the Asian firm.

In Russia, it agreed to merge its ride-hailing business in the country with local player Yandex.

In Indonesia, the region's biggest economy and most populous country with more than 250 million people, Grab is in a fierce battle for customers with app Go-Jek, which has backing from Google and Tencent. In this image passengers wait for Grab car  in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy and most populous country with more than 250 million people, Grab is in a fierce battle for customers with local app Go-Jek, which has backing from Google. In this image passengers wait for Grab car in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia



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