Haven't noticed that anyone is talking about the fact that just a week ago, the Chinese government issued a press release about "legalizing" ride-sharing apps [1][2]. Article 21 of the new law, which should take effect this November, basically says that subsidizing the drivers would be illegal, effectively killing Uber's strategy.
The Uber case is classic in China, governemnt using "laws and regulations" to kill foreign businesses. Didi's competitive advantage was just being Chinese, nothing else. Now that Uber has surrendered, I wonder if the regulations will actually be implemented.
The Uber case is classic in China, governemnt using "laws and regulations" to kill foreign businesses. Didi's competitive advantage was just being Chinese, nothing else. Now that Uber has surrendered, I wonder if the regulations will actually be implemented.
[1] http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-07/28/c_129186192.ht... (Official press release in Chinese)
[2] https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/28/china-issues-guidelines-to... (Article in English)