Uber confirms $500m investment in Pakistan

[Kabira]

KARACHI - Uber is committing $500 million investment to growing its operations in Pakistan.


According to a press release, this financial backing is supported and accelerated by the arrival of Uber’s Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty this week.

The Uber team and Gore-Coty met with the Chairman Federal Board of Investment Dr. Miftah Ismail, on Thursday in Islamabad to discuss expansion of Uber in Pakistan and to reinforce the company’s dedication to the market through their additional investment of $500m by 2020.

Talking about Uber’s investment plans for Pakistan, Gore-Coty said, “We will continue to work closely with the government as Pakistanis benefit from reliable, affordable and safe transportation like Uber. We are committed to not only providing the best solution of convenient reliable transport but also want to contribute to the economy of Pakistan by creating thousands of work opportunities and overall economic empowerment for the people and state of Pakistan. Pakistan is a key market for Uber which is why we are channeling significant investment to the country.”

Pakistan continues to be a thriving, high-growth market for the company. Uber is operational in five cities across the country – Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad. Tens of thousands of drivers use the app, which directly translates into the economic opportunities required to address unemployment. The additional investment will assist in growing the driver partner network, expanding in more cities, creating more economic opportunities, and the enhancement of Uber’s customer services program.

Dr. Ismail, Chairman Federal Board of Investment commented, “We are pleased to meet Uber’s management and welcome their proposal for significant investment that aims to create over 250,000 economic opportunities for Pakistanis. Pakistan has a strong economy and a rising middle class that can benefit tremendously from Uber’s innovative technology. Since March 2016, Uber has been operating in Pakistan, providing affordable and reliable transportation while creating tens of thousands of economic opportunities for Pakistanis”.

Riders in Pakistan currently have three options available to them: UberGO, UberX and UberAUTO. This ensures that riders in Pakistan have multiple options at different price points, which generates a wider breadth of economic opportunities for driver-partners.

A positive regulatory framework would allow us to create economic opportunities for over 250,000 Pakistanis. In addition to partnering with government on regulation, Uber will also work with organizations. NNI
http://nation.com.pk/business/14-May-2017/uber-confirms-500m-investment-in-pakistan

 

[FalconsForPeace]

Uber in India employee nearly 250000 drivers.
Thats a huge employment generator as the minimum a driver makes is 60000 inr per month. Though depends on him.
But uber had a loss of 3.8 billion usd globally till last year . Till how long can they sustain the losses remains to be seen.

why do they have losses

 

[Kabira]

why do they have losses

Typical western company with huge amount of money. First they will take out competition and then increase prices....

 

[Lagay Raho]

Uber in India employee nearly 250000 drivers.
Thats a huge employment generator as the minimum a driver makes is 60000 inr per month. Though depends on him.
But uber had a loss of 3.8 billion usd globally till last year . Till how long can they sustain the losses remains to be seen.

In India does Uber have its own cars or they rent them out?

 

[Lagay Raho]

Uber owns no cars anywhere in the world.
You buy or rent a car and register as a driver.
The app connects clients to you.

i see just like careem i was hoping i could rent them some cars without any drivers

 

[Fledgingwings]

Rest of world i cant say but in India they are dirt cheap. 7 km ride for only 49 rs is very common here. Whether that covers the operating costs is questionable.
The drivers are paid on basis of no of trips per day. 10 or 16. And they get Rs 2000 for 10 trips. So how the economics works since length of trips can vary ?

Similiar situation in pakistan.I wonder how is it profitable for uber when it pays that muuch amount in salary.

 

[Counterpunch]

Rest of world i cant say but in India they are dirt cheap. 7 km ride for only 49 rs is very common here. Whether that covers the operating costs is questionable.
The drivers are paid on basis of no of trips per day. 10 or 16. And they get Rs 2000 for 10 trips. So how the economics works since length of trips can vary ?

In Pakistan, the driver charges based on the agreed rate/KM and then the company and the driver gets to share a percentage of this. This way the company does gain on every trip made and so does the driver. It's the end consumer that is paying for it

I am not sure why is UBER paying the drivers on every trip made on top of the money the drivers are getting from the commuters. If the share percentage they are getting from every trip is less than the amount per trip they are doling out then they will forever be in loss.

 

[Tom M]

why do they have losses

Just because UBER is a company that runs on funding, not on operational profit. As simple as that.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Creates more social problems then what it solves should be banned as the don't pay taxes (taxi licence fees etc )