Uber wants Hong Kong as its APAC HQ but needs the government to regulate ridesharing

Uber is planning to move its APAC headquarters to Hong Kong and has once more urged its government to regulate ride-sharing, allowing the company to operate in Hong Kong legally.

Only as recently as 2019, a year after merging its Southeast Asia operations with Grab, Uber opened its Singapore office to oversee operations in nine Asia-Pacific markets, including Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. However, the US firm recently announced that it would be moving its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Singapore in the next 12 months. Now the company has announced that a relocation of its regional headquarters to Hong Kong is planned, which it promises would create jobs, attract top-class talent, and bolster the city's tech ecosystem.

But there's a serious snag to that plan. While Uber has been operating in Hong Kong since 2014, it has been doing so in a grey zone legally, as carrying paying passengers without a hire-car permit is illegal. Chung said regulatory certainty on ride-sharing is necessary to make the relocation happen. 

"Uber is ready to move our regional headquarters to Hong Kong. We want to make Hong Kong our home for the region, but regulatory certainty is key - it’s time for the government to regulate ride-sharing," said Estyn Chung, general manager of Uber Hong Kong. "It is simply not possible for Uber to make such significant investments without our core business being able to operate to its full potential in a regulated framework. Ride-sharing is the backbone to our business and has led to Uber being able to go into innovative new businesses such as food delivery, freight, micro-mobility, and even thinking about the future of urban aviation. 

Uber said it had held private conversations with the Hong Kong government but that there had been no constructive response as of yet. Chung said Uber would formally approach the government with a proposal in the next few days and that in order to find a pathway to regulate ride-sharing, he wanted government and community leaders to sit down with his team and hear their investment plans for Hong Kong,

"We know that this will require compromise from all sides – here we want to make it clear that Uber is ready and willing to compromise to find a fair and reasonable pathway forward. We want a win-win solution for all stakeholders," he commented. 

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