Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek officially launched its services in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi under the brand Go-Viet as part of its international expansion on Wednesday (Sep 12).
The app-based on-demand service Go-Viet, driven by a Vietnamese founding team, with Go-Jek providing technology, expertise and investment, offers services ranging from transport and logistics to food-delivery and mobile payments.
Go-Viet grabbed a 35 percent share of the market for motorbike ride-hailing services in the economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City just six weeks after launching there on August 1. The launch saw 1.5 million downloads, but not all of Go-Viet's services were made available immediately.
“We are proud to have seen positive development in Ho Chi Minh City market, and this paves the way for us to expand our services to Hanoi,” Go-Viet co-founder and managing director Nguyen Vu Duc said at Wednesday’s launch as quoted by Reuters.
"We are proud to share our uniquely Indonesian technology and to see people in other countries benefit from it through increased efficiency in urban mobility and most importantly, though improved overall welfare," said Nadiem Makarim, Go-Jek's founder and CEO as quoted by cnet.com.
Wednesday’s launch was attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is in Hanoi for an official state visit and a meeting of the World Economic Forum. More Indonesian businesses are seeking to expand their operations in Vietnam, Widodo told reporters on Tuesday, after a meeting in Hanoi with his counterpart Tran Dai Quang.
Vietnam is the first stage of the international rollout that Go-Jek first announced in May. The company plans to invest $500 million into the expansion, with Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines expected to come next, although no timeline has been given.
Sources: Reuters.com, cnet.com