Uber to invest $ 1 billion in India over 9 months

Uber Technologies Inc. said it will invest $1 billion in India to expand into more cities as the ride-hailing application company targets to hit 1 million trips per day in the next six to nine months.

The ride-sharing app said the investment would go toward expanding its operations beyond the 18 cities where it now operates, as well as developing new products and payment services.

The company has faced regulatory roadblocks in India, particularly in Delhi where it and services like it were banned in December after a woman said she was raped by a driver booked through the Uber app. The driver denies wrongdoing and is now on trial. It had said last month that it would invest more than $1 billion in China this year as it looks to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy.

Amit Jain, president of Uber India, said the company was “extremely bullish” on the Indian market and that it continues to see a 40 percent monthly growth, FT reported.

“This is why Uber is committing an additional $1 billion to India in the next nine months so we can expand and improve our operations, expand into newer cities, develop new products as well as payment solutions, and establish a great support network”.

The US-based company had signed an agreement with the Telangana government to set up a “state-of-the-art facility” to ramp up its India operations.

In India, Uber is up against the country’s largest player Ola, run by ANI Technologies, which acquired a smaller operator TaxiForSure in March for $200 million. Uber applied for licences in New Delhi but kept operating while approvals were pending.