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Uber takes another big step into Hong Kong cab market with purchase of HKTaxi app
- Deal announced on Friday will see US-based ride-hailing service – still not legal in the city – operate popular local app separately for now
- HKTaxi, which claims access to more than 70,000 registered drivers, has been downloaded 2 million times since 2013
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Uber has acquired HKTaxi, Hong Kong’s most popular cab app, in a move that will push the United States-based ride-hailing service even deeper into the local market.
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The move gives Uber – which itself is not considered legal by the city government – control of an app with access to more than 70,000 registered cab drivers, made up of active, dormant and part-time workers.
Since launching in 2013, HKTaxi has been downloaded more than 2 million times. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in Friday’s announcement.
“Uber has spent a lot of effort investing in the taxi industry, this transaction reflects that we are committed to investing in the development of the industry in Hong Kong,” Uber Hong Kong’s general manager Estyn Chung told the Post.
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Chung said the acquisition was aimed at increasing the adoption of e-hailing services, adding that Uber hoped to further explain to the government how they planned to achieve the objective.
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