“We have seen strong public support for reform, but not the level of certainty from the government that we need,” Uber spokesman Chris Brummitt said via email. “As we continue those efforts, we have decided to keep Singapore as a regional hub for the medium term.”
Uber Technologies Inc. is backtracking on plans to move its Asia-Pacific regional hub to Hong Kong, citing a lack of certainty around regulation of ride-sharing in the city.
The company had announced in May that it was ready to relocate its Asian headquarters from Singapore “and establish an innovation and engineering hub” in Hong Kong, provided authorities removed regulatory hurdles (ride-sharing is officially banned). Uber said in a statement that it would stick with Singapore for the time being. It made no mention of controversial national security legislation passed in June that gives Hong Kong authorities sweeping powers to police online data, prompting global tech firms to reconsider their future commitment to the city.
