After Uber retreated from Vietnamese market, Grab has ruled the roost in the ride-hailing market. Not long after that several Vietnamese ride-hailing apps continuously made debut. However, only when Go-Viet app appeared, did Grab meet its match. The battle for ride-hailing app supremacy between the two businesses has become increasingly fierce and yet to know the winner. The ride-hailing market in Vietnam recently welcomed a new player – Be - with two first major services: motorbike and car rides. Be run by Vietnamese star-up BeGroup aims to provide services in 15 cities and provinces this year and all 63 cities and provinces nationwide by 2020. The company so far has had 30,000 partner drivers and its app has had more than 3 million downloads. Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, CEO of BeGroup, said that his company’s competition strategy will not aim to offer super low fare rate but to focus on improving service quality and loyalty of partner drivers. Partner drivers of Be will have … [Read more...] about Battle of ride-hailing apps
Battle of new market
Record US$3.1 million paid in New Year”s tuna auction at Japan”s new market
A Japanese sushi entrepreneur paid a record US$3.1 million for a giant tuna on Saturday (Jan 5) as Tokyo's new fish market, which replaced the world-famous Tsukiji late last year, held its first pre-dawn New Year's auction. President of sushi restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai, Kiyoshi Kimura (R), displays a 278kg bluefin tuna at his main restaurant in Tokyo on Jan 5, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi) Bidding stopped at a whopping ¥333.6 million for the enormous 278kg fish - an endangered species - that was caught off Japan's northern coast. Self-styled "Tuna King" Kiyoshi Kimura paid the top price, which doubled the previous record of ¥155 million also paid by him in 2013. "It's the best tuna. I was able to buy a delicious, super fresh tuna," the sushi restaurant chain owner proudly told reporters. "The price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers will eat this excellent tuna," Kimura said after the auction. Tsukiji - the world's biggest fish market … [Read more...] about Record US$3.1 million paid in New Year”s tuna auction at Japan”s new market
Watching the battle of the brands
By Robert Bicknell First, a disclaimer. I am a TaylorMade/Adidas sponsored golf professional. This means, among other things, that when it comes to my professional responsibilities, I always recommend TaylorMade clubs to people who ask. I also personally think that they’re the best in the market. However, my golf column is separate and not sponsored by TaylorMade, so I occasionally review other brands as honestly and as transparently as I can. Sometimes this gets me in hot water, but so be it. OK, with that out of the way, let’s get on with it. It’s always exciting when the biggest name in golf comes out with a new line of clubs and Titleist is undoubtedly the biggest name, and they just launched their new “TS” series of drivers and I have been hearing a lot of good things about it. The new heads promise to be “faster” than previous models. (If you notice, nobody says “longer” anymore, or guarantees “10 more … [Read more...] about Watching the battle of the brands
Divorce of Vietnam’s coffee royalty gives rise to a new ‘king’
Social media was abuzz in early April when the estranged wife of Vietnam’s 'Coffee King' spoke to the press for the first time about their lengthy divorce. Before the relationship took an ugly turn in 2015, Dang Le Nguyen Vu, founder and chairman of Trung Nguyen, had the country and international media in awe as his coffee brand became a household name and subsequently conquered 60 international markets. Little did the public know about Vu’s wife, Le Hoang Diep Thao, who stayed out of the limelight as she ran the company as its deputy director and minority shareholder, until Vu ousted her in 2015. What ensued has become a costly legal battle over Trung Nguyen Group’s ownership, and with charter capital of VND1.5 trillion ($65.85 million), each side is accusing the other of obstructing the company’s operations. A shot of Dang Le Nguyen Vu, CEO of Trung Nguyen Coffee. Photo courtesy of Dang Le Nguyen Vu's official Facebook fanpage The rise of Vu and Trung … [Read more...] about Divorce of Vietnam’s coffee royalty gives rise to a new ‘king’
Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle
Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market. The industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, puts pressure on Indonesia’s Go-Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK). A shake-up in Asia’s fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry became likely earlier this year when Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber. “It was really a very independent decision by both companies,” Grab President Ming Maa told Reuters, adding that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was “highly supportive”. Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Singapore-based Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board. … [Read more...] about Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle