Meituan aims to launch drone deliveries in Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy

The meal delivery giant joins a slew of Chinese tech giants vying for new growth in Hong Kong

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A Meituan drone delivers takeout food to customers in Shenzhen, China. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Published: 7:00am, 21 Nov 2024

Food delivery giant Meituan is looking to launch its drone delivery services in Hong Kong, joining a slew of Chinese tech giants that are searching for new growth in the city amid stiff competition on the mainland.

Meituan aims to be one of the first companies to operate a drone delivery fleet in Hong Kong, where the government is moving to boost its low-altitude economy, company vice-president Mao Yinian said during a talk at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Saturday.

The company, which already offers drone deliveries in major Chinese cities including its home base of Beijing, as well as in Shanghai and Shenzhen, will apply to join Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy regulatory sandbox, said Mao, who heads Meituan’s drone delivery unit.

The low-altitude economy refers to activities in airspace below 1,000 metres. After the Chinese government listed it as a “strategic emerging industry” in December last year, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged in his annual policy address last month to develop the sector in “a wide array of application scenarios”, including rescue, surveying, goods delivery and passenger travel.

A Meituan drone landing on an express delivery station in Shenzhen. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong’s hilly terrain could give drones an edge over ground deliveries, according to Mao. It takes an average of 15 to 20 minutes for drones to deliver a meal, about half the time needed for manual deliveries, the public affairs head of Meituan’s drone division Yan Yan told local newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily.