Editor, Writer, Researcher
The problem with Rocket's statement is that Easy Taxi completely shut down operations in Hong Kong, Indonesia and India, as well as in Taiwan, back in December 2014. Also in December, Easy Taxi scaled back in Malaysia by laying off at least 20 staff members.
Regardless, it's safe to say that PricePanda Thailand occupies dead last place with a share way below 1%, according to SimilarWeb. It was launched a year ago this month by the German startup conglomerate Rocket Internet.
Besides Phandeeyar, the eBay founder's "philanthropic investment firm" has given grants to the Open Myanmar Initiative for election monitoring activities, Yangon Journalism Institute and Myitmaklia News Agency. It also supported a Global Witness report on labour conditions in Myanmar jade mines.
More than half of those 27 million-plus smartphone owners in Myanmar are regular data users, who check into Facebook daily and the Viber messaging and VOIP app almost as frequently. How can so many people afford phones when the average wage is $3 a day?
What's more, Tan has taken Singaporean citizenship, according to a Grab filing with the Singapore government last year ... Grab's holding company lost $82.8 million in 2016, more than triple its losses in 2015, ... Grab faces strikes and protests by drivers, lawsuits in Vietnam and Myanmar, and governments still debating how best to license and tax ride-hailing companies.
Susan J Cunningham 