Taxi hailing app Uber seems to be lurching from one trouble to another if recent events are anything to go by. Today, the company halted its services in Macau, the China administered region that has become one of the world's biggest gambling destinations. The move comes days after Uber announced that the company was going to hand over its business operations in Russia to competitor Yandex and is definitely going to further hamper the company's dreams of global expansion.
Blow to global aspirations
Uber, which has been trying to become a global taxi hailing giant has had its set of setbacks when they tried to capture new markets and the halting of services in Macau comes as the latest setback to the company's global aspirations.
Last year Uber exited from China after failing to capture one of the most lucrative markets in the world and last week, the company handed over its operations to rival Yandex in Russia. The suspension in services in Macau is related to a range of disagreements with regulators and could eventually spell the end of Uber's adventures in Asia's gambling capital.
Uber made the announcement in a blog post and stated that the company decided to pause its services so that they could have a frank discussion with the regulators in Macau. The post went on to add that the pause in services is temporary in nature. Uber stated, We are already exploring ways to serve the city again, and have had initial discussions with business partners, including transport operators and hotels,”
What are the options?
Although under the current climate, this might well look like the precursor to another exit for Uber, the company does have certain options that might help them in staying on in Macau.
Like it has done in Taiwan, Uber could go for a licensing structure by way of which the company will have to partner with local cab companies and continue to operate without the regulatory hassles that it has been facing.
Regulatory concerns are nothing new for Uber and hence, it if really wants to operate in Macau then it can definitely go for partnerships.
Although one might feel that Macau, with a population of around 1 million is small fry in the larger scheme of things, the region has a roaring gambling industry and the demand for cabs is only going to rise in the years to come. Macau boasts plenty of high-end luxury hotels and Las Vegas style casinos that draw gamblers from all over the world.
