Uber Eats said it will discontinue its Hong Kong operations on January 1, shortly after its parent firm lost US$2.4 billion in its most recent quarter on the back of its investment in the Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi.
Photo credit: Uber Eats
Uber Eats competes with rivals such as Foodpanda and Deliveroo, which have amassed 272,000 and 122,000 active users this year in Hong Kong, respectively. Uber Eats engaged only about 48,400 active users this year, according to data from App Annie.
“After five years of partnering with local restaurants, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue Uber Eats in Hong Kong,” the company said in a statement. “Our number one priority now is to support our staff, restaurant-partners, and delivery people during this time.”
The company added that credits on the Uber Eats platform can be used until December 31, while remaining credits can either be transferred to the Uber app or refunded.
With this development, Uber will now focus on its ride-hailing unit in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the loss due to its investment in Didi comes despite Uber recording its first profitable quarter on an adjusted basis, thanks to a recovery in the US-based company’s ride-hailing business.
Didi’s US-traded shares have plummeted by 41% since China’s cyberspace regulator banned the ride-hailing giant from all app stores on the grounds of an alleged breach in data protection rules.
In August, Uber acquired HKTaxi for an undisclosed sum, in a bid to tap into Hong Kong’s cab market. Since HKTaxi’s launch in 2013, it has been downloaded over 2 million times and has more than 70,000 registered cab drivers.
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Editing by Collin Furtado and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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