Uber Reaffirms Commitment To South Korean Market: Report

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) shares are trading slightly higher premarket today. The company’s CEO reportedly reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the South Korean market, which trails behind local tech group Kakao.

He emphasized that Uber will focus on attracting more taxi drivers to fuel growth in the region, reported Reuters.

Also Read: Uber Pumps Capital Into Nvidia-Backed Wayve’s Series C Funding Round

Kakao holds over 90% of the taxi-hailing market in South Korea, based on app usage data.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told reporters in Seoul, “The fact is that a taxi driver who uses the Uber app will make more money, will be more busy.”

“We are growing significantly faster than the market, and we’re confident that our market share will only grow from here.”

Uber initially entered the South Korean market in 2013 but withdrew due to regulations permitting only taxi-licensed companies to offer ride services.

Read: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Visits BYD HQ In China To Discuss Onboarding 100K BYD EVs On The Ride-Hailing Platform

In 2021, Uber re-entered the market by forming a joint venture with South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, SK Group, named UT. In March this year, UT’s taxi-hailing service was rebranded as Uber Taxi.

This month, Uber and Cruise stated that it will begin offering autonomous rides next year in the U.S. using part of Cruise’s 1,200 unit fleet.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via iShares Trust iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (BATS:IYT) and Franklin Disruptive Commerce ETF (BATS:BUYZ).

Price Action: UBER shares are up 0.50% at $72.59 premarket at the last check Friday.

Image via Shutterstock

Read Next:

• Grab Follows Uber’s Lead, To Add Over 1K BYD EVs to Indonesian Fleet for Green Rides

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.