Is Foodpanda saying goodbye to Vietnam?

Rocket Internet’s online food delivery service Foodpanda might have just shut down its operations in Vietnam, local news site Genk reports.

Genk says a supposed “notice of termination” from Foodpanda that’s making the rounds on social media informed its restaurant partners it was closing down in Vietnam due to a “financial situation” and because it was “facing many difficulties.”

The notice, supposedly signed by country general director Trương Duy Linh, further said that five days following the announcement, the company would cease all business activities in the country, primarily its website Foodpanda.vn.

Image courtesy of Genk

We’ve reached out to Foodpanda to confirm the report and we’ll update this story once we hear back.

Foodpanda launched in Vietnam (initially as HungryPanda) in 2012, a time when competition in this sector was already heating up around Asia. In Vietnam, the company has had to work hard to deal with strong homegrown brands Vietnammm and Eat.vn.

Eat.vn is backed by one of Vietnam’s most prominent online media companies, VC Corp. On the other hand, Takeaway, one of the world’s biggest online food delivery services, acquired a stake in Vietnammm, bringing the rivalry to a whole new level.

All companies were said to have been amping up their marketing and advertising spend. Genk says that until the end of 2014, Foodpanda was aggressively fighting for its share of the market, advertising even on TV.

Around the globe, Foodpanda and sister site Hellofood are competing head-on with a variety of meal delivery sites and apps. Foodpanda has gobbled up competitors in Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, and Southeast Asia, bringing its restaurant partners to more than 38,000 in 500 cities worldwide at the latest count.

(UPDATE: Foodpanda has confirmed the closure.)