Uber switched on ride-hailing services in Macau this week, seven years after pulling out of the Chinese gambling hub. The February 3 launch covers multilingual taxi bookings and a limousine service to Hong Kong that requires 24-hour advance reservations.
The real question is whether Uber learned from its 2017 exit. The company is offering MOP500 (~$62) bonuses to drivers for their first trip, addressing taxi shortages driven by tourism recovery. Reports suggest limited initial scale due to undisclosed taxi sign-ups and local company control, pointing to a cautious rollout rather than the aggressive expansion that burned capital in China and Southeast Asia.
History suggests Uber struggles with APAC regulatory environments. The company sold its China business to Didi in 2016 after losing $2 billion, then handed Southeast Asia to Grab in 2018. Macau's status as a Special Administrative Region offers different licensing requirements than mainland China, but local taxi unions and established operators still present hurdles.
What this means in practice: Uber is testing a partner-first model in Greater China rather than competing directly. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for just 10.9% of Uber's revenue, and the company is focusing robotaxi expansion across more than 10 markets by year-end, with Hong Kong and Japan on the list.
The contrast with Grab is notable. Grab succeeded in Southeast Asia partly through regulatory advantages and aggressive local partnerships that Uber couldn't match. Macau will show whether Uber's new strategy of working with existing taxi operators can gain traction where capital-heavy disruption failed.
Three things to watch: actual driver and taxi partner sign-ups beyond launch bonuses, regulatory friction with local transport authorities, and whether this opens a path back into Hong Kong proper. The robotaxi timeline matters more to Uber's Asia strategy than Macau taxis, but you have to start somewhere.