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  • Grab agrees to increase drivers’ income

    Grab agrees to increase drivers’ income

    Grab Indonesia, a ride-hailing application provider, plans to take measures to increase the income of its drivers in response to their protest earlier this week.

    “We will study this. We all agree to make a joint effort to increase the income [of the drivers],” said Grab Indonesia managing director Ridzki Kramadibrata in Jakarta on Wednesday.

    Ridzki and a representative of Go-Jek, another ride-hailing application provider, were at the palace on the invitation of Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko to discuss the issue, following the meeting between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and representatives of the protesting drivers on Tuesday.

    Jokowi received the drivers’ representatives after thousands of drivers hit the street on Tuesday morning to demand the tariff increase, which was Rp 1,600 (12 US cents) per kilometer.

    During the meeting, Jokowi promised mediation between the drivers and the ride-hailing application providers.

    Riszki said he would soon announce the results of the study and get ready to talk to government officials.

    “The government has shown goodwill by asking us to negotiate [with the drivers]. We have already understood the problem. It is about income. But the drivers have to understand that tariffs are not the only factor in increasing their incomes,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Moeldoko said the drivers demanded the tariff increase to Rp 4,000 per km from Rp 1,600.

    He said the Transportation Ministry had also made calculations about the new tariffs that would be proposed in the mediation meeting.

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  • Uber Users Need to Transfer to Grab Platform Soon

    Uber Users Need to Transfer to Grab Platform Soon

    Uber ride sharing drivers and customers in Jakarta and other 50 Southeast Asian cities have until April 8 to transfer their accounts to Grab, following an announcement on Monday (26/03) that Uber will sell its business in the region to the Singapore-based Grab.

    Under the deal, Uber will hand over its operations and assets in Southeast Asia in exchange for a 27.5 percent stake in Grab — which according to latest valuation round put its value at $6 billion. Grab will also let Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi join its board of directors.

    “Uber will be combining our operations with Grab to lead you in the next chapter of ridesharing in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia,” the company said in a statement to customers on Monday.

    “What this means for you: we will be transitioning our services over to the Grab platform by April 8, 2018, so all requests after that date should be made from the Grab app. However, you can still use the Uber app in more than 80 countries around the world,” the company said.

    Grab’s acquisition of Uber will challenge its main competitors, including Indonesia’s homegrown Go-Jek. Go-Jek is backed by Chinese technology giants Tencent Holdings.

    Grab said it will further develop an online-to-offline platform by creating GrabCycle, an offline marketplace for shared bicycle rent services, and GrabShuttle Plus, an in-demand platform to provide bus services for certain routes.

    As part of the acquisition plan, the GrabFoods service will further expand in Singapore and Malaysia. The food service integration is slated to finalize in the first half this year.

    Aside from food and online-to-offline services, Grab will also expand its payment services as it plans to offer micro-financing, insurance service deals and other financial services.

    “Together with Uber, we are now in an even better position to fulfill our promise to outserve our customers. Their trust in us as a transport brand allows us to look towards the next step as a company: improving people’s lives through food, payments and financial services,” said Anthony Tan, Grab Group chief executive and co-founder.

    The acquisition of Uber, which has forfeited its operations in eight countries in the region, is similar to the deal China’s Didi Chuxing made in 2016 that bought out Uber’s business and operations in the country for $35 billion, and its third retreat after selling its operations in Russia to local company Yandex in 2017.

    “It [the deal] 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.

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  • Uber selling Southeast Asian business to regional rival Grab

    Uber selling Southeast Asian business to regional rival Grab

    Ride-hailing giant Uber is selling its business in Southeast Asia to regional rival Grab while gaining a robust stake in the fast-growing ridesharing, food delivery and financial services business.

    Grab said Monday that Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake and a seat on its board as part of the deal. Financial details were not disclosed.

    Since becoming Uber’s CEO in September, Dara Khosrowshahi has been maneuvering to make the company profitable before a planned initial public offering expected next year.

    The company’s full-year net loss widened to $4.5 billion in 2017 as it endured multiple scandals and 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.

    Grab provides services in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. It says it offers access to five million drivers and agents and handles over a billion transactions a year.

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

    The Uber app will be discontinued in just two weeks, and in the meantime its drivers have to sign up to drive with Grab. Riders, likewise, will need to download the Grab app and set up accounts, although their Uber accounts will still work outside Southeast Asia.

    The companies said that Uber Eats, the food delivery business, will run in Southeast Asia through May and then shift to the GrabFood platform. Grab has been seeking to dominate the regional market for car and motorbike hailing and has expanded into other areas, recently announcing plans to partner with a Japanese credit card company to provide credit to millions of people without bank accounts.

    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.

    Grab’s CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said the acquisition of Uber’s regional business marks the beginning of a new era in using mobile businesses to provide transport, food delivery, payments and other financial services across the region.

    Uber has withdrawn from several big overseas markets. It sold off its China business to a competitor and partner, Didi Chuxing, taking a stake in Didi. In Russia, it agreed to merge its ride-hailing business in the country with Yandex, a local search-engine leader that also runs a popular taxi-booking app.

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  • Uber agrees to sell Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle

    Uber agrees to sell Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle

    Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said in a statement on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market.

    The deal marks the industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, and puts pressure on Indonesia’s Go-Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc’s Google and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd.

    As part of the transaction, Uber will take a 27.5% stake in the Southeast Asian company and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board.

    Expectations of consolidation in Asia’s fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry were stoked earlier this year when Japan’sSoftBank Group Corp made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber.

    SoftBank is also one of the main investors in several other big ride-hailing firms including Grab, China’s Didi Chuxing, andIndia’s Ola.

    Ride-hailing companies throughout Asia have relied heavily on discounts and promotions, driving down profit margins.

    Uber, which is preparing for a potential initial public offering in 2019, lost US$4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition at home and in Asia, as well as a regulatory crackdown in Europe.

    “It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

    Grab said it will take over Uber’s operations and assets in eight countries in the region, and will expand its food delivery services.

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  • Indonesia’s authority to start ticketing violators of ride-hailing app rules

    Indonesia’s authority to start ticketing violators of ride-hailing app rules

    The Transportation Ministry in April will start ticketing ride-hailing drivers who violate the rules as stated in Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 108/2018 on non-route public transportation.

    The ministry will pay particular attention to drivers who do not have a driver’s license for public transportation (SIM A general) and the document that demonstrates the vehicle has passed a roadworthy test, said Transportation Ministry land road transportation director general Budi Setiyadi in Jakarta on Wednesday.

    He said there was no reason for drivers to violate the rules as the government had helped them and the vehicle owners by providing cheap driver’s licenses and free roadworthy tests.

    “Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi instructed me to complete the issuing [of driver’s licenses and vehicle roadworthiness documents] in March so that in April we can start ticketing [violators],” said Budi.

    The ministry has started deploying officers on roads to advise ride-hailing drivers who do not have the two documents. The officers currently only issue warning tickets to the drivers.

    Budi said the ministry had recorded a high demand for the two documents as the deadline was approaching. He said in Jakarta alone, 18,000 roadworthy documents for ride-hailing vehicles had been issued and about 1,000 drivers had also obtained their new driver’s licenses.

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  • GRAB and UBER fighting to dominate the ridesharing in South East Asia

    GRAB and UBER fighting to dominate the ridesharing in South East Asia

    Uber’s founders first tested their app among San Franciscans, a pair of Harvard Business School classmates from Malaysia seized upon a similar idea: They wanted to build Uber, but for Asia.

    In 2012, they launched a ride-sharing service with 40 drivers in Kuala Lumpur. Eventually, they settled on the name Grab.

    Six years later, Grab dominates the ridesharing market in South East Asia, boasting 2.3 million drivers in 168 cities across eight countries.

    In 2017, the company raised $2.5 billion from investors, including Softbank, the Chinese ridesharing company Didi Chuxing, and Hyundai.

    This recent round of funding valued it at $6 billion, making it the most valuable tech startup in South East Asia. Despite Uber’s aggressive investment in the region, it has struggled to beat Grab. That is in part because of Grab’s cultural advantage.

    While Uber has spent close to a decade figuring out what Western users want out of a ride-service, the company has struggled to adapt its findings to parts of the developing world. By contrast, Grab has solved a puzzle facing companies in places that are just coming online: How to make e-pay work in nations that lack financial infrastructure.

    For co-founder Anthony Tan, the transactions Grab facilitates represent the future of his company. We are sitting in the booth of a hotel restaurant in Davos, Switzerland.

    Tan, 35, who is the son of one of Malaysia’s largest automobile distributors, wears a cross and a ring on a chain around his neck. He pauses over his noodle dish as he describes the company’s bustling Singapore headquarters, where he and co-founder Hooi Ling Tan (no relation) have recruited an army of young coders that include alumni of Facebook, Amazon and Google.

    They will need that army. In South East Asia, the ride sharing wars have escalated into an arms race for money and talent. Since Uber launched in the region in 2013, the company has sunk millions of dollars into recruiting riders and drivers.

    Meanwhile, local competitor Go-Jek enjoys a strong market lead in Indonesia, where it is based, and recently raised $1.2 billion in a funding round that included Google as well as Chinese companies Tencent and JD.com and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

    Dominating ride-share in Southeast Asia comes with significant economic opportunity. According to a December report co-authored by Google, spending on ride-hailing apps in the region has more than doubled over the past two years to $5 billion, and is expected to reach $20 billion by 2025.

    So far, local companies seem to be winning. Despite its huge investments, Uber continues to lose money as it strives to match the discounts and promotions competitors are offering riders and drivers in the region.

    Speaking at the New York Times Dealbook Conference in New York last fall, new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi addressed the company’s business in Southeast Asia, saying the market was over-capitalized. “We’re going in, and we’re leaning forward,” he said. “But I‘m not optimistic that market is going to be profitable any time soon.”

    Citing a source close to Grab, Reuters reported in November 2017 that Uber may look to partner with Grab, as Khosrowshahi moves to cut costs in advance of a possible 2019 initial public offering.

    There is precedent for this. In 2016, as Uber bled money in China, the company sold its China business to Didi Chuxing in exchange for a 20 percent stake in the merged operation.

    Now that Uber has completed its Softbank deal, the two companies share a significant investor, which could pave the way for a similar future partnership. Both Uber and Grab declined requests for comment on the speculation.

  • Vietnamese taxi company sues Grab for unfair business practices

    Vietnamese taxi company sues Grab for unfair business practices

    HCM City People’s Court commenced trial looking into the suit initiated by the local domestic taxi operator Vinasun against the popular ride hailing service, Grab, on accusations of unfair business practices.

    Vinasun, once a dominant player in taxi transport in the southern region, has seen its market share gradually eaten away by Uber and Grab as they continue to gain popularity, especially as the number of smartphone users in the country rises.

    Vinasun claims the ‘illegal operations’ of Grab in Việt Nam are to blame for the company’s falling revenues in 2016 and 2017 – a VNĐ40 billion (US$1.756 million).

    Trương Đình Quý, deputy director-general of Vinasun, based their complaint on the trade law and government’s Decree 37 issued in 2006, which clearly states that the duration of total promotion deals in a year must not exceed 90 days and each promotion programme is not to last beyond 40 days. In addition, businesses that want to hold promotion events must register with the municipal or provincial commerce department.

    Quý alleged that in recent times, exploiting the pilot window that the transport ministry granted for software-based transport services, Grab has conducted “rampant” promotion deals and discounts, akin to the practice of “dumping” of manufactured goods.

    Vinasun also claimed that the company needs to observe 13 regulations, while Grab only has to follow three, creating unfair competition in the field of passenger transport.

    “Industry 4.0 apps are an inevitable trend. However, being just an app-based ride hailing service, Grab has disrupted the taxi transport sector, causing several implications to State management activities in tax collection and ensuring social security for those work for Grab,” Quý said.

    “In addition, Grab drivers themselves are encountering difficulties when the company collects up to 25-28 per cent from the taxi drivers’ earnings as commissions. Even more concerning, Grab Việt Nam reported charter capital of VNĐ40 billion while they claimed they turned a loss of VNĐ938 billion, which earned them special supervision by the finance ministry,” Quý said.

    Quý said that the company has prepared for the case over the last year and is ready to fight against Grab and Uber to the end in a “legally transparent” manner.

    Grab’s lawyers, on the other hand, contended that Vinasun’s allegations are baseless and that their software solution has actually created fair grounds for competition between conventional taxi operators. They also argued that Vinasun’s evidences and methods of loss calculations are all questionable. On these grounds, Grab asks the court to either suspend the lawsuit or reject Vinasun’s case entirely.

    The trial yesterday morning attracted a crowd of taxi drivers from Vinasun and Mai Linh, another well-known taxi company in the country, anxiously awaiting the outcome that could determine the course of their futures.

    Former supreme judge Phạm Công Hùng said that the outcome of the case depends on who has the weightier evidence in court.

    “With that being said, I fully support Vietnamese businesses’ wanting to take matters to court if they see their interests have been violated. This is a totally civilised way of settling business disputes,” Hùng said.

    This is the first time the increasing tension between conventional taxi operators and their app-based counterparts took to the fight to the courtroom, all while Vietnamese lawmakers seek to construct appropriate legal tools to effectively regulate these emerging services.

    A new draft decree is in the works, which would require Grab and Uber offices in Việt Nam to register for licences as an enterprise doing ‘electronic business’ and transport cars must have easily identifiable logos on both front and back windows.

     

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  • Indonesia to Start Implementing Stricter Regulation for Ride-Hailing Services in February

    Indonesia’s Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed on Thursday (25/01) the government will start implementing its newly-revised regulation for app-based ride-hailing services in February.

    The new ministerial regulation for services like Uber and Grab was set in October last year. It has been trialled in some major cities including Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Surabaya (East Java) and Medan (North Sumatra).

    The new regulation will impose operational area limits for app-based taxis and require their drivers to obtain a public transportation driver’s license. Each driver will also have to join up with a company or a co-operative with at least five members.

    Cars used by app-based taxis will have to undergo regular test to keep their certificate of roadworthiness, or KIR, and each car should have a sticker saying it is being used as a ride-hailing cab.

    “In England, Uber cars have that kind of sticker, that’s easily seen on the street,” Budi told reporters at Kuningan City Mall in Jakarta on Thursday (25/01).

    “The ultimate goal for this regulation is to provide better safety for passengers,” he said.

    Many online taxi drivers have been complaining about the new regulation since it was first introduced in October.

    According to them, the hardest requirement to meet in the new regulation is re-registering the car as a public transportation vehicle and doing the KIR test regularly.

    “The regulation has to be fair,” Budi said. “It’s for everyone’s benefit. But public safety is our top concern. The regular KIR test, for example, is to make sure the cars are in tip-top shape,” Budi said.

    Last Monday, hundreds of online taxi drivers marched to the Transportation Ministry headquarters in Jakarta.

    The drivers promised a bigger street protest next Monday, Jan. 9, in front of the presidential palace.

    The government has also said it will impose tiered sanctions for drivers who disobey the rules, from suspending their license, fines of up to Rp 500,000 ($37) to a two-month jail sentence.

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  • FairPrice and Grab to launch new subscription service

    FairPrice and Grab to launch new subscription service

    A subscription service is being planned by supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice and on-demand transportation/mobile payments platform Grab.

    They have signed a memorandum of understanding to embark on a joint initiative to complement the online-to-offline lifestyle of consumers by offering better value, convenience and access to goods and services.

    “Our strategic partnership with Grab signifies our ongoing efforts to cater to the evolving needs of the community,” says NTUC FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng.

    Grab Singapore group CEO/co-founder Anthony Tan says the partnership will offer its customers extra discounts and perks from FairPrice. “With both supermarket and transport services as part of this initiative, we are thrilled to provide greater cost savings and convenience.”

    A survey of more than 1000 customers between 20 and 40 years old has shown that 95 per cent are likely to subscribe to such services, while 56 per cent of respondents indicated they are not subscribed to a service. Groceries (69 per cent) and transport (54 per cent) also top the list of services they want from a subscription service.

    Consumers opting for the Grab/FairPrice subscription service will be offered exclusive savings, rebates and access to services on groceries and transport. It is targeted for launch this first quarter.

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  • Vietnam to tighten tax control as it legalizes Grab, Uber after 2-year trial

    Vietnam to tighten tax control as it legalizes Grab, Uber after 2-year trial

    Ride-hailing apps Grab and Uber are to be officially authorized in Vietnam after completing trial runs, but the government has pledged to impose the stricter controls it currently imposes on local transport firms.

    The phone-based transport services have created healthy competition but they need to be regulated, the Ministry of Transport said.

    Director of the ministry’s transport department, Tran Bao Ngoc, said that ride-hailing services will have to register their businesses with investment authorities and the transport ministry and the tax authorities.

    “Tax agencies will keep track of fares so management can be more transparent,” said Ngoc.

    Ho Chi Minh City’s Tax Department is looking to collect more than VND53 billion ($2.34 million) in suspected back taxes from Uber by January 10. The department has asked five commercial banks to help retrieve the money.

    Uber Vietnam, a subsidiary of Uber International Services Holding B.V. based in the Netherlands, filed a lawsuit last month, saying that it is not subject to taxes according to Vietnam’s agreement on double taxation avoidance with the Netherlands.

    But the city court dismissed the lawsuit earlier this week, saying Uber Vietnam does not have the legal status for such action.

    Grab and Uber arrived in 2014 and operate both car and motorbike taxi services. The two services have been running on a trial basis since early 2016, but have been caught up in a war with traditional taxi drivers.

    Many taxi firms have accused Grab and Uber of “unfair competition” that has hindered their businesses and caused thousands of drivers to quit.

    Last September, Hanoi Taxi Association said Uber and Grab had been transferring around $150 million overseas every year to evade taxes. Grab denied the accusation.

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  • GrabPay set to launch in Philippines

    GrabPay set to launch in Philippines

    Singapore-based taxi-booking company Grab plans to launch its digital payments platform GrabPay in the Philippines within the next six months.

    It is holding discussions with the central bank about acquiring an e-licence.

    Grab Philippines public affairs manager Leo Emmanuel Gonzales said it plans to roll out GrabPay as a digital payment app for retail purchases. The company currently offers mobile payment services via its top-up service GrabPay Credits and its rewards system GrabRewards.

    It launched GrabPay’s store and restaurant payments feature in Singapore last month after rolling out peer-to-peer fund-transfer services in August.

    Grab claims 63 million users across Southeast Asia.

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  • Vietnam’s top taxi firm wheels out motorbike service in the race against online taxi

    Vietnam’s top taxi firm wheels out motorbike service in the race against online taxi

    Major Vietnamese taxi company Mai Linh on Monday launched its own motorbike hailing app in its latest attempt to claw back customers from Uber and Grab, the ride-hailing firms from the U.S. and Malaysia that have been outshining local cab firms.

    The app, Taxi Mai Linh, is now available in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang, and has around 5,500 drivers.

    Ho Huy, Mai Linh’s chairman, said what makes his company’s new service different from Uber and Grab is that the fare is kept constant at VND11,000 (48 cents) for the first two kilometers and then drops to VND3,800 per kilometer from the third kilometer onwards.

    Uber and Grab charge their passengers similar rates but raise fares during rush hours and bad weather.

    He also said the company will run a campaign to encourage traditional xe om drivers to join its team in an effort to avoid fights between them and tech-savvy drivers, something that both Grab and Uber have experienced.

    So far, the strategy seems to be working, and many Uber and Grab drivers have shown up at Mai Linh’s door to switch sides.

    “I applied because I heard Mai Linh is offering a better deal for its drivers,” said Cuong, who has worked as a GrabBike driver for over a year.

    “My income has fallen because Grab now deducts up to 20 percent of the fares that drivers receive from passengers instead of 15 percent as before, and more and more people are working as GrabBike drivers, which means more competition,” he said.

    Uber takes a cut of 25 percent from its drivers.

    Mai Linh’s drivers will not have to hand over any of their earnings for the first two months, after which time the company will take a 15 percent share.

    Mai Linh reported that it lost 6,000 employees in the first half of this year, or 20 percent of its total drivers.

    Its business results did not read much better during the same period, with revenue falling more than 5 percent on-year to VND1.72 trillion ($75.8 million).

    In all, Mai Linh suffered a loss of VND47.5 billion from its taxi business, twice as much as last year, the company said.

    Its rival Vinasun, the biggest taxi firm in Vietnam, lost 10,000 employees in the first nine month, and its  revenue in that period only reached 58 percent of the company’s annual target.

    They have both pointed the finger at Uber and Grab, saying the two foreign firms enjoy preferential policies as they are classed as transport software providers which, unlike traditional taxis, are not accountable for passenger and traffic safety.

    In its latest attempt to battle Uber and Grab, Vinasun has rolled out a hailing servicevia Facebook Messenger.

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  • Hawkr opens a new branch in Pacific Place

    Hawkr opens a new branch in Pacific Place

    Following its launch in Quarry Bay three months ago, “grab-and-go” eatery Hawkr has expanded to Pacific Place

    Hawkr springs from a partnership between Myanmar-based lifestyle concept Pun+Projects founder and restaurateur Ivan Pun and private-equity professional Jake Astor. Pop-up dining chef Mina Park is in charge of the menu which offers original recipes and fresh ingredients without MSG, artificial flavours or preservatives. It was inspired by Southeast Asian fare from such food destinations as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    The second store has an expanded menu including Burmese tealeaf, Isaan beef and Song Que salmon salads, Mamak Mee noodles and roasted pork noodle with coriander pesto,plus tealeaf eggs. Hawkr’s bespoke coffee blend is again a feature, with a resident barista.

    Like the Quarry Bay flagship, Hawkr at Pacific Place continues a design theme of neon green signs against a rattan background, and colourful wall pattern inspired by the ikats of Burma and Thailand.

    Staff aprons are hand-dyed in indigo from the Isaan region of Thailand.

    All menu items are half price after 7pm every day, and the team also plans to work with local charities to ensure any leftover food goes to those in need. Catering menus are also available for corporate events, luncheons and parties.

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  • Grab, Uber benefit from ‘unfair competition

    Grab, Uber benefit from ‘unfair competition

    Vietnam’s top taxi firms have for months been blaming Uber, Grab for their losses. The two most popular app-based ride-hailing services in Vietnam, Uber and Grab, hold an unfair advantage over local taxi firms, according to reports by the trade and transport ministries.

    “App-based ride-hailing services are not regulated by the same laws as transport providers like local cab firms and motorbike taxis,” said the trade ministry in its report.

    “These app-based services should be regulated the same as transport providers,” the ministry said.

    Both ministries are in favor of a change to the legal framework to guarantee fair competition.

    Uber and Grab currently operate in Vietnam as part of a pilot scheme that also allows for 10 or more app-based ride-hailing services, including the apps launched by Vinasun and Mai Linh. They are treated as providers of transport software which, unlike traditional taxis, excludes them from being accountable for passenger and traffic safety.

    Responding to a proposal in September from the Hanoi Taxi Association, the transport ministry said a complete halt to their operations was unlikely, but the government should hold fast on new approvals for app-based taxis.

    Authorities fear the fast-growing number of app-based taxis will contribute to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City’s traffic problems. There are now already over 50,000 Uber and Grab vehicles registered in the two cities.

    In Vietnam, local cab firms like Mai Linh and Vinasun have to pay VAT of 10 percent and corporate income tax of 20 percent, while Grab and Uber only have to pay 3 percent and 2 percent.

    But this July, the tax department found that most local cab firms in Ho Chi Minh City only paid 0.01 to 0.06 percent corporate income tax, while some like Mai Linh Taxi paid less than 3 percent value added tax. The finance ministry subsequently asked the tax department to review these cases for possible tax fraud,

    Meanwhile in September, Ho Chi Minh City’s tax department demanded Uber Vietnam pay over VND10.5 billion ($460,000) in tax arrears.

    “We look forward to new regulations that ensure fair, relevant competition among transport providers,” a Grab Vietnam representative told last month, in response to recent allegations of local cab firms regarding unfair competition.

    Both Uber and Grab have repeatedly told local media they are not violating any laws.

    Vinasun, the biggest taxi firm in Vietnam, has lost 10,000 employees so far this year, and its nine-month revenue only reached 58 percent of the company’s annual target. Rival firm Mai Linh also has lost 6,000 employees this year, 20 percent of its total drivers.

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  • SIA, Grab integrate mobile apps

    SIA, Grab integrate mobile apps

    Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Grab have integrated their respective mobile apps to offer enhanced convenience to travelers.

    The partnership will benefit customers who are travelling to the airport in six countries across Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    SIA customers can now book Grab rides through the SingaporeAir mobile app. Customers using the app will see an option to book a Grab ride to the airport seven days before their scheduled flight.

    Selecting this option will direct customers to the Grab app, where they can choose to order a Grab ride to the airport on-demand or in advance. The airport will be automatically listed as the destination, so the user simply fills in the pick-up point and desired time.

    The first 5,000 customers will receive GrabPay Credits worth S$10 ($7.38) in their Grab account for bookings made through the SingaporeAir mobile app for Grab rides in Singapore.

    “We are constantly seeking to enhance our SingaporeAir mobile app and KrisFlyer program to ensure that we provide more benefits to our customers,” said Campbell Wilson, SIA SVP for sales and marketing.

    Jason Thompson, head of GrabPay, said that with GrabRewards, a dollar spent on Grab is more valuable than a dollar spent in cash. “By integrating Grab’s and SIA’s loyalty programs, customers can look forward to using their points when they plan for their next holiday.”

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