Uber now eyes Cambodia

KHMER TIMES
MAY KUNMAKARA

Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies seems keen to tap the Cambodian market. Reuters

US-based Uber will conduct a study on the feasibility of operating its ride-sharing services here in Cambodia, its representatives told the Commerce Ministry on Friday.

Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak told Uber Asia-Pacific representatives Chan Park and Brian Shroder that the increased proliferation of internet and mobile phone users in the kingdom will only help the company set up shop here.

“E-commerce law will come into force very soon and it will be more convenient to boost e-payment which will make the running of Uber’s business here very smooth,” Mr. Sorasak said.

He recommended that Uber register with the ministry and cooperate with the Public Works and Transportation Ministry as well as the Post and Telecom Ministry to ensure that the company, currently headquartered in San Francisco, fully understands the local demographic.

According to both Uber representatives, the app-based Uber service is currently updating its technology to make it easier for smartphone users to get to their destinations.

On Thursday, Japanese company FIGIX Industry Co. Ltd. in collaboration with a group of Cambodian engineers launched taxi-booking service Itsumo. Its developer guarantees that users will be picked up by a driver within three minutes of a request and will be sent anywhere in the city.

The base fare starts at 4,500 riel ($1.10) and increases by $0.50 per kilometer.

“The app is available in three languages – Khmer, English and Japanese,” Rin Darith, Project manager of the iTsumo Taxi, told Khmer Times.

“You can download iTsumo – the Cambodia Taxi from both Apple Store for your iOS phone or from Google Play for your Android phone.

With iTsumo, passengers can easily find the nearest taxi without having the difficulty of explaining the place they are going to,” added Mr. Darith.

The company is considering expanding its services to Siem Reap and Battambang provinces in the near future, he said.

Grab is biggest rival to Uber in Southeast Asia, and has raised $750 million in a funding round, turning up the heat on the US firm now seeking to expand in the region after exiting China.