Uber loses $5.9bn as Asia’s investment values drop

Due to its investments in other businesses, Uber, the ride-hailing and delivery service, has lost $5.9 billion (£4.7 billion).

Almost all of the loss, according to the corporation, was caused by a drop in the value of assets in businesses like Didi in China and Grab in Southeast Asia.

Didi and Grab’s stocks have plummeted since they went public in New York last year.

Despite the setback, Uber’s CEO emphasised the company’s efforts to recover from the pandemic’s effects.

Uber’s first-quarter loss increased to $5.9 billion from $108.6 million a year ago, owing to a $5.6 billion reduction in the value of holdings in other businesses, particularly Didi, a Chinese ride-hailing startup.

In 2016, Uber sold its operation in China to Didi in exchange for an 18 per cent share in the Beijing-based firm, as it faced stiff competition in the world’s second-largest economy.

Didi’s market capitalization in the United States has plummeted by more than 80% since its $4.4 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last summer.

China’s internet authority ordered online businesses not to sell Didi’s app within days of its IPO, claiming it illegally acquired users’ data.

The company started in December which it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange and relocate to Hong Kong.

When both companies were still privately held, Uber sold its Southeast Asia operations to Grab in exchange for a 27.5 per cent stake in the Singapore-based company in 2018.

Grab’s stock plummeted after its first public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York in December of last year.

Its stock market value has plummeted by about 75% since its IPO, which was the largest ever by a South-East Asian company in the United States.

In addition, Uber also has a stake in Zomato, an Indian food delivery company that it acquired in 2020 in exchange for its Uber Eats operations in India.

Since its fantastic stock market debut in July, Zomato’s shares have nearly halved in value.