Uber plans to ride out of stable Singapore, move APAC HQ to high-tension Hong Kong

Uber has proposed moving its Asia-Pacific headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong. Yes, that Hong Kong: the one wracked by months of pro-democracy protests, the coronavirus, and this week news that China plans to give itself the power to deploy its security forces in the special administrative region. Having stared down …

[Warm Braw]

The new headquarters will oversee nine countries

I don't think Uber will last long if they claim Hong Kong is a country, especially at this precise moment...

[Irongut]

> "Uber is ready to move its regional headquarters to Hong Kong... but regulatory certainty is key,"

Or in other words it's a bribe.

[Zippy´s Sausage Factory]

"It's time for the government to regulate ride-sharing so we can bring jobs and investment to lower wages and put local taxi drivers out of business in Hong Kong."

FTFY

[Richard Crossley]

Octopus

Given that taxis don't like crossing the harbour and don't take Octopus cards, which are taken on almost every other form of public transport, it might wake up some of taxi drivers.

[macjules]

"It's time for the government to de-regulate autonomous vehicles so we can bring death and destruction to Hong Kong's streets."

There, FTFY

[Pascal Monett]

"It's simply not possible [..] to make significant investments without regulatory certainty"

Wait, so you're no longer disrupting ?

Or is it that, in a now China-controlled Hong Kong, you actually fear being arrested instead of a visit from an ineffectual government inspector ?

It's easy to have balls in the West, that pretends to have democratic values. It's a lot harder to have balls in a country where you can dragged off to jail as soon as the local government has decided it doesn't like you.

[crayon]

I'm curious as to what investment Uber brings to any place where it operates. The platform is already there, maybe a few changes to account for local peculiarities. As for "[not being able to] make significant investments without regulatory certainty", the current regulations are already certain in that Uber and similar are not allowed to operate. The taxi industry in HK does need a kick up the backside - the people who own the taxi operating licences are the ones who makes the most money, not the drivers. A single taxi licence is worth several hundred grand (sterling) - a couple of years ago they were trading at around HKD 7 million(!) with some reporting that they were going for as much as HKD 12 million(!!!).

[sketharaman]

Uber & Regulatory Gaps

I was curious about Uber's legality status in Hong Kong. Apparently, it's not legal enough for having rider protections and insurances as a rider would get with licensed taxi, so it's a case of "caveat rider". Just the type of "regulatory gap" that Uber has thrived on in many other cities it operates. What can go wrong in HK, eh?