Despite not having immediate plans for activities in Singapore, Uber has no plans to relocate its Asia Pacific (APAC) regional hub.
The ride-hailing firm launched its new APAC headquarters at Frasers Towers in Singapore on Tuesday, April 2.
In a blogpost, Uber said, "Our new home contains a crowd-sourced mix of creative ideas and quirky designs that celebrates the diversity of the Asia Pacific communities we serve, while championing the places and foods we love."
The regional hub has 165 employees who will provide operational services to the region in sales, marketing, legal services, in addition to other corporate functions.
While Uber has made its exit China and South-east Asia earlier, but the move is hailed by the company as "an important chapter in the evolution of our organisation".
Since 2015, Singapore has been home to Uber’s APAC headquarters. The ride-hailing firm's first home in Singapore was a coffee shop in Tanjong Pagar, from which a small team "built our operations from the ground up". It then re-located to Guoco Towers in Tanjong Pagar before that office was taken over by Grab, after the two companies' operations merged last year. Uber's office then moved to Mapletree Anson before it was relocated to its new 2,000 sqm office at Frasers Towers on Cecil Street.
Ms Amy Kunrojpanya, Uber’s senior director of policy and communications (Apac), said that Singapore is an “amazing talent hub”, in addition to being a progressive environment for the start-up and technology community. Hence, Uber decided to continue having its regional headquarters in Singapore despite not having active operations in the market.
“We did do due diligence… we decided that this is the right place to retain the hub, which is why we haven’t moved,” she added.
Noting that the APAC region remains a critical Hub for Uber, the firm is planning to grow its team in Singapore and will be hiring specialist and entry-level roles.