MANILA: The Philippine transport regulator said on Friday it would lift a one-month suspension on Uber if it paid a penalty of 190 million pesos (SR13.96 million), a fine nearly 20 times greater than Uber had offered to pay.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, or LTFRB, said Uber also needed to collectively pay its drivers nearly 20 million pesos daily as financial assistance during the suspension period.
“We’re working hard to meet the conditions for the lifting of the suspension and hope to resume operations as soon as possible,” Uber said in a statement.
The regulator halted Uber’s operations for a month from August 14 for disregarding a directive to stop accepting new driver applications.
Uber, which said it did not process those applications, later told the LTFRB it could pay a fine of 10 million pesos to get the suspension lifted.
The Uber freeze has attracted public attention because many Philippine commuters regard the ride hailing app as more reliable and competitive than mainstream transport services.
Uber recently said it had nearly 67,000 Philippine drivers.
The LTFRB said the penalty was calculated by “taking into consideration the number of days that (Uber) should be suspended in relation to the daily average income.”
Citing data submitted by Uber, the LTFRB said it had daily income of up to 10 million pesos from at least 150,000 trips. The fine took into account the remaining suspension period of 19 days, said LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada.
“The lifting of suspension will depend on the payment of fine and remittance of financial assistance,” Lizada told reporters in a text message.
The dispute with the Philippine regulator is the latest setback this year to Uber, a firm valued at more than $60 billion.
Its Philippines suspension caused a spike in demand for rival Grab, and long queues near offices and malls and some disgruntlement about reverting to using regular taxis.
Senator Grace Poe, a prominent advocate for improving transport services, tried to bring Uber and LTFRB officials together to work out a compromise. An executive of Uber apologized for its “misunderstanding”.
Poe on Friday said the hefty fine should “make Uber rethink its actions and re-evaluate its strategy in testing the extent of government regulations.”
The LTFRB last year suspended applications for ride-share operators, to work out how best to regulate the industry. It said Uber was “irresponsible” for challenging that order.
Philippine transport regulator says will lift Uber suspension if hefty fine paid
Philippine transport regulator says will lift Uber suspension if hefty fine paid
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.
On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.
The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.
Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.
Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34.
On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.
Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent.
United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent.
Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.
