Uber has named a new head of its Asia-Pacific business, filling a post vacated more than a year ago, as the ride-hailing group attempts to revamp its regional operations after a series of high-profile market retreats.
Pradeep Parameswaran, formerly head of Uber’s India and south Asia operations, will take over as regional head of ride-hailing.
His job will be to boost Uber’s presence in countries such as Japan and South Korea to take advantage of these countries’ recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Uber, which remains unprofitable, has been hit by the health crisis. As in Europe it faces scrutiny from regulators and increasing competition in Asia, but still views many countries in the region as potentially lucrative opportunities.
Its Asia business had been managed out of Europe since Mr Parameswaran's predecessor resigned in April 2019. That reflected its reduced footprint in the region after selling its China and south-east Asia businesses in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
Until Mr Parameswaran’s appointment, Uber’s operations across Asia had largely been managed country by country.
Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who visited Tokyo in February, has named expansion in Japan and South Korea as “near-term priorities”. In Hong Kong, which has managed to largely contain the spread of coronavirus, the company said ride numbers have recovered by more than 80 per cent.
Mr Parameswaran will be based in Uber's new headquarters, which will most likely be Hong Kong following a move from its current Singapore hub, where it does not offer services. The company currently operates in a legal grey zone in Hong Kong.
There is “huge potential” to serve more Uber customers, said Mr Parameswaran, who joined the company in 2017.
In Japan the company has partnered with taxi companies to navigate regulatory obstacles and wants to expand via tie-ups, such as with shareholder SoftBank Group.
Uber has also targeted Australia, where it faces rivals including China’s Didi Chuxing, to launch new services such as car rental service Uber Rent.
Dane Anderson, a senior vice-president at research firm Forrester, said that markets such as Japan, South Korea and Australia were “more manageable and profitable for Uber” because their populations and economic activity were concentrated in a smaller number of cities compared with China and India.
“Unlike Didi in China, Grab and Gojek in south-east Asia and Ola in India, Uber does not have as strong ride-sharing competition in these markets, which also makes them more attractive comparatively speaking,” he added.
In January, Uber sold its Eats meal delivery business in India but still maintains a ride-hailing presence in the country.
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