Indonesian ride-hailing Go-Jek, through its local brand Go-Viet, extended its testing services to 12 districts of Ho Chi Minh City on August 1, local media reported.
Illustrative photo. Source: Go-Viet.
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After the testing, Go-Viet is scheduled to launch officially on September 5 in Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi and other provinces/cities in Vietnam.
Go-Jek is expected to be a direct competitor to Grab, which has raised concern over its alleged monopoly status in Southeast Asia's ride-hailing market following its acquisition of Uber's operation in the region on March 26.
Go-Jek's strategy is to combine the world-class technology developed by Go-Jek, with the in-depth market knowledge and expertise of the local teams, to create local businesses that really understand consumers, Go-Jek CEO and founder Nadiem Makarim told Nikkei.
According to Nguyen Vu Duc, CEO and co-founder of Go Viet, the company is expected to meet the travel demand of the Vietnamese customers and provide a stable income for tens of thousands of drivers in the local market through advanced technology, which is tailor-made for the Vietnam's market.
With the aim of becoming the largest multi-service platform in Vietnam, Go-Viet will start with the service of transport and goods delivery first, then food delivery, e-payment and other services, Duc added.
In May, Go-Jek announced its decision to invest about US$500 million to move into four new markets in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.
The company is expected to provide technological support and expertise to local founding teams in each of the four markets, while those local companies would determine their own brands and identities.
The company's services are used in 50 cities across Indonesia and it is backed by well-known investors like Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Chinese tech giant Tencent.
