Rhea Liu
Uber announced today that it has officially registered in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone with registered capital of RMB 2.1 billion (USD 33 million).
The new company is named Shanghai Wubo Information Technology with Axel Martinez, Vice President and Treasurer at Uber, listed as its legal representative.
Shanghai Wubo was first established in January with registered capital of RMB one million (USD 158,000). Wubo later added RMB 2.1 billion in June this year. Uber announced in its press release it would add an additional investment of RMB 6.3 billion (USD one billion) to its Uber China operations.
According to public records, the businesses allowed to be operated by the company include technology development, technical services, technical consultancies, business information counseling, and marketing.
The announcement indicated that Uber China is now a locally registered and locally operating company with its servers in China. Uber China is the only independently operating company Uber has founded outside of the U.S. The registry will help Uber manage new government regulations against ride-hailing services.
Liu Zhen, Uber China’s Strategy Chief, disclosed that Uber China is now communicating with relevant government departments concerning the new regulations about to be released. Once the regulations are published, Uber will apply for permits and certificates as required.
Today, Uber’s main rival Didi Chuxing was granted the first-ever operating license for private car-hailing business in Shanghai by the Shanghai Municipal Transport Committee. It’s reported that to apply for the permit, companies need to have their servers registered in China, hold all relevant operating licences and have their customer databases open for government monitoring.
