Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has once again turned down Uber Vietnam’s official proposal to carry out a ride-hailing pilot scheme with local drivers.
According to Thanh Nien, the reasons behind the rejection lie within Uber’s business registration. Ministry officials told the news source that at the moment, the company is registered in Vietnam as a management consultancy and market research firm.
Therefore, the agency had to deny the app company’s pilot proposal for a transportation service. Grab Vietnam, however, is currently registered as an IT and transportation company, and a similar proposal from them was approved by the ministry more than a year ago.
Moreover, transport authorities added that before straightening out the above-mentioned issue, Uber Vietnam had already moved forward with signing up drivers and other transportation-related activities.
In addition, Uber Vietnam has yet to obtain authorization from its Holland-based parent firm, Uber International Holding BV (Uber BV), to apply for the ministry’s approval, reports the news source. At the moment, all business transactions and contracts are made directly with the parent company while Uber Vietnam has no legally binding involvement.
Moving forward, the transport ministry required Uber Vietnam to get authorization from Uber BV and also apply to add "transport service provider" to its business purview in Vietnam. In addition, the ride-hailing company also needs to amend its contracts with direct clients: Uber drivers, who currently sign contracts directly with Uber BV and not the Vietnam branch.
Uber’s journey in Vietnam has been rocky since its arrival in the country in 2014. The company has been accused of tax evasion several times, and last year, after finally paying taxes, the firm found itself in hot water because of a controversial online ad relating to the hashtag #SaigonThatThu, which became popular on social media after one of last year's epic downpours.
[Photo via EnGadget]
