Vietnams Ride-hailing Market Heats Up

VietNamNet Bridge - Many taxi firms have announced investments in ride-hailing apps, but they have been warned that the market is not as lucrative as they think. 

Grab is not the only player in the ride-hailing playing field as Go-Jek, an Indonesia-based app, is about to enter Vietnam.

DealStreetAsia reported that Go-Jek is recruiting workers in Vietnam.

In October 2017, Nadiem Makarim, CEO of Go-Jek, said it would be active in four more ASEAN countries, and that Go-Jek was targeting populous markets.

Fastgo, another ride-hailing app, officially debuted on May 1, 2018. Mpos has been developing the app over the last three years. The solution is built for a large taxi firm in Indonesia and Taxi Open 99 in Vietnam.

Soon after Uber announced its departure from Vietnam, Futabus Lines stated it will pour $100 million, or VND2.2 trillion, into a ride-hailing service.

The transport company said that Vato, the name of the app, is not only a ride hailing service, but will integrate many different functions, creating an ecosystem of apps, from payment, calling, transport and delivery. 

Like Uber and Grab in their first days in Vietnam, Futabus Lines plans to spend big money on sale promotion programs to be applied to drivers and passengers.

Viettel, the military telco, has also jumped into the ride-hailing market. In September 2017, it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Gonow, a passenger transportation floor, acting as an intermediary to connect vehicles’ owners and clients. Under the agreement Viettel will help Gonow build and develop gonow.vn and a mobile app.

Commenting that the departure of Uber brings a ‘golden opportunity’ to Vietnam taxi firms to jump into the e-hailing market, analysts warned that it would be difficult for traditional taxi firms to compete with Grab and other apps.

However, Nguyen Truong Giang, the founder of Xelo, is optimistic about the future of Vietnam’s apps. If the apps satisfy passengers, they will be able to compete on a par with Grab and foreign apps.

Meanwhile, Khuat Viet Hung, deputy chair of the National Traffic Safety Commission, said Grab’s success in South East Asia and its acquisition of Uber shows that businesses in the region, including Vietnam, can grow and cement their positions in the market.

“Of course, all opportunities are associated with challenges. But I think the opportunity now is gaining ground,” he commented.

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Nam Hai