Uber is pulling out of Macau from the 22nd July onwards after 600 days of fruitless battles with the local regulatory body.
In a email sent to Uber users in Macau, the company said its efforts to be included in the regulatory framework had failed to achieve an ideal result. It also said it could “not secure a business environment” to “unlock the full benefits of ride-sharing”.
Uber, in its official website, said it was exploring ways to serve the Chinese-controlled territory again and had started talks with business partners, including transport operators and hotels. The company had been operating in Macau since late 2015.
According to Business Insider, the news comes a few days after Uber announced it would cede control of Russia and several surrounding markets to search giant Yandex. The two companies will merge their ride-sharing operations, with Yandex controlling around 59%, and Uber about 37%.
Uber did not give more detail on why it had pulled out of Macau. But last year, the company also had to pull out of neighbouring China. Uber China merged with its biggest rival, Didi Chuxung, for $35 billion last August.
