Grab might enter Taiwan's ride-hailing market by partnering with local players.

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Interestingly, Taiwanese media had already reported rumors, even before $GRAB acquired Foodpanda Taiwan, that Grabcould partner with Taiwan's largest taxi operator, 55688, to enter the ride-hailing market. Under those rumors, Grab would take a stake in 55688 and license its technology platform to the company.

Taiwan's ride-hailing market is already pretty crowded. There are four scaled players in the market, along with numerous smaller ride-hailing companies still operating. One of the smaller players is Bolt, a key competitor to Grab in Thailand.

Uber is currently the second-largest player in Taiwan. 55688, the largest local taxi company, is listed and valued at just over $300M, with around $100M in revenue and an operating margin of about 20%.

It is a fairly profitable business. Interestingly, the most anticipated service in Taiwan may be Grab Bike. Consumers, including me, really like the product, but it is not currently legal in Taiwan.

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Although not super related, welcome to read the quick commerce deep dive Gab and I cowrite!