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Uber has launched its service in Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma, over a month after going public with its expansion plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n With a population of 50 million people and\u00a0rapidly increasing internet adoption,\u00a0Myanmar is seen by many tech firms as a market with much growth potential. Grab, Uber\u2019s chief rival in Southeast Asia, entered the country\u2019s capital Yangon<\/a> in March with a beta launch, but Uber\u2019s arrival in the city is notable because it comes with the backing of the national government. Principally, that\u2019s because\u00a0the service will only work with licensed drivers, Reuters reports<\/a>, using the same model as Grab.<\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of logic behind that change of approach.\u00a0Even after operating in Asia for four years, Uber\u2019s service sits in a grey area that\u00a0sometimes sees governments clamp down<\/a>\u00a0on \u2018unlicensed\u2019 drivers. In Myanmar, authorities are\u00a0taking its arrival as an opportunity to advance its digitization\u00a0since it doesn\u2019t offer an immediate threat to existing taxis.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally welcome Uber,\u201d\u00a0Phyo Min Thein, chief minister of the Yangon Region, said in a statement. \u201cI believe Uber will help Myanmar becoming an ideal market in Southeast Asia by providing safety and improved services to our people and international tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. ambassador Scot Marciel added that Uber can \u201cimprove urban mobility\u201d and strengthen relations between\u00a0the two countries.<\/p>\n The Myanmar launches marks the 57th country where the U.S. ride-sharing service is operational, but this market may just be its most intriguing. The internet was barely accessible in Myanmar before the country\u2019s democratization in 2011, while cell phones and SIM cards were priced beyond almost all residents. Yet today, Myanmar\u00a0has over 50 million registered SIM cards and an estimated five million-plus Facebook users.<\/p>\n \u201cThe country has leapfrogged straight to the world of smartphones and data,\u201d\u00a0David Madden, who runs\u00a0Phandeeyar<\/a>,\u00a0a community project in Yangon that\u2019s\u00a0backed by\u00a0Omidyar Network<\/a>, told TechCrunch recently. \u201cIt\u2019s only a matter of time before other international tech companies recognize the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear when, or indeed whether, Uber will up the ante\u00a0by introducing services like UberX, which enable anyone with a car to become a driver. Any such move would test its relationship with the government, which looks to be the pillar for this expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Uber has launched its service in Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma, over a month after going public with its expansion plan. With a population of 50 million people and\u00a0rapidly increasing internet adoption,\u00a0Myanmar is seen by many tech firms as a market with much growth potential. Grab, Uber’s chief rival in Southeast Asia, entered the country’s… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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