Uber operates in many countries around the world, but it seems that despite it being the first of its kind, there are some markets that the company has struggled in, such as China where Uber was forced to call it quits and sell to local competitor Didi Chuxing. As you might have heard, history appears to be repeating itself as Uber is also reported to be giving up its Southeast Asia operations to another competitor, Grab.
Turns out the reports were right because it has since been confirmed that Uber will indeed be exiting the region as they will be selling their business to Grab which operates in several Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and so on. By selling their business to Grab, Uber is also expected to retain a 27.5% stake, although it is unclear as to how much this deal is said to be worth. The deal has yet to be finalized pending regulatory approval.
Also by selling off their operations to Grab, certain Uber services such as UberEats will be folded into GrabFood, which in turn will also expand to additional Southeast Asian countries in the next quarter, presumably piggybacking off the infrastructure already laid by Uber. As for Uber drivers, it seems that they might only have a couple of weeks to decide if they want to work for Grab or stop driving entirely.
According Grab’s FAQ page, Uber services in the country will continue to operate until the 8th of April, 2018, after which they have the choice to have their accounts moved to Grab and continue to drive as per usual, just under Grab.