MANILA (Reuters) - Indonesian ride-hailing and online payment company Go-Jek is looking to expand into the Philippines, Manila's transport regulator said on Friday, just days after Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] shut down its local business as part of its exit from Southeast Asia.
Go-Jek executives have requested for a meeting with the regulator next week, Aileen Lizada, a board member at the transport regulator, told Reuters.
A Go-Jek spokesman declined to comment.
Reuters reported in March that Go-Jek, which counts Alphabet Inc (O:GOOGL), Singapore's Temasek Holdings Ltd (TEM.UL) and China's Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) as investors, was set to announce its first expansion to another country in Southeast Asia in the "next few weeks."
The move comes weeks after Uber sold its loss-making Southeast Asia business to regional rival Grab, and just days into Uber's exit from the Philippines, to the dismay of the riding public that has complained of higher fares, longer waiting time and picky drivers.
The Philippines' transport regulator this week approved the accreditation of homegrown ride-hailing companies Hype Transport Systems Inc, HirNa Mobility Solutions Inc and Golag Inc to spur competition.
The country's transportation agency caps the number of ride-sharing vehicles at 65,000 across all brands and reviews the figure every three months.