FRANKFURT: Taxify, Uber’s upstart European-based rival, is looking to expand during the coming year outside of the biggest cities in the more than 20 countries where it now operates into secondary markets, Chief Executive Markus Villig said on Thursday.
The Estonia-based taxi-hailing platform active in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, has taken advantage of Uber’s headline-grabbing missteps in 2017 to undertake expansion into a handful of Western European markets and Australia.
On Thursday, it is opening up in Lisbon, Portugal, building on moves in recent months into Vienna, Paris and Sydney. A bid to enter the highly competitive London market in September ground to a halt when transport regulators there denied it a license to operate, a decision it hopes to reverse.
Taxify is active in 40 cities on four continents, seeking to capitalize on mounting driver resistance to Uber in the newer markets it has targeted. By contrast, Uber is active in more than 80 countries and nearly 700 cities.
The smartphone app company typically charges drivers who sign up on its platform a 15 percent commission while Uber takes around a 25 percent cut of fares for drivers using its app to field passenger pickup requests.
Taxify, which last year struck a partnership deal with China ride-hailing giant DiDi in return for an undisclosed amount of financing that gave DiDi a minority stake, is looking to raise further funding in the current quarter, Villig said.
This could involve further investment by DiDi or new financial investors, but stop short of giving anyone majority control of the firm, the founder said.
The company is looking to raise $50 million, Bloomberg reported this week, citing an unnamed source. Villig declined to comment on the status of the negotiations, saying: “It makes sense to focus on growth right now rather than profitability.”
Upstart Taxify expands into Lisbon in race against Uber
Upstart Taxify expands into Lisbon in race against Uber
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,414
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower on Wednesday, shedding 38.85 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 10,414.06.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR3.46 billion ($920 million), with 123 stocks advancing and 134 declining.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also shed 41.61 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 23,428.67.
The MSCI Tadawul Index edged down 0.45 percent to 1,368.36.
Arabian Drilling Co. was the best-performing stock on the main market, with its share price rising 6.8 percent to SR102.90.
Naqi Water Co. gained 4.30 percent to SR58.25, while Saudi Ground Services Co. advanced 3.78 percent to SR38.42.
Tihama Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. saw its share price fall 4.95 percent to SR16.31.
AlAhli REIT Fund 1 also declined 3.53 percent to SR6.29.
On the announcements front, United Mining Industries Co., listed on the parallel market, said it has begun commercial production of gypsum board at its plant in Yanbu.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the financial impact of the project’s commercial production will be reflected in the first quarter of 2026.
United Mining Industries Co.’s share price was unchanged, closing at SR42.54.
Dkhoun National Trading Co. said its shareholders approved the board’s recommendation to distribute interim dividends on a semi-annual or quarterly basis for 2025.
According to a Tadawul statement, shareholders also approved transferring the balance of the company’s statutory reserve, valued at SR2.43 million, to retained earnings.
Dkhoun National Trading Co.’s shares saw no trades and closed at SR65.
