Mainland ride-hailing giants back Hong Kong plan to cap permits at 10,000

Two mainland Chinese ride-hailing operators in Hong Kong have backed a controversial plan to regulate the industry by capping vehicle permits at 10,000, a figure the city’s largest American business chamber considers insufficient.

In submissions to the Legislative Council on Monday and in recent days, Amap and Didi Chuxing said they supported the Transport and Logistics Bureau’s proposed cap as part of a new regulatory regime scheduled to be passed by lawmakers in July.

Amap said the government’s cap “fully considered” Hong Kong’s urban conditions, balancing demand while “avoiding cutthroat competition” and road congestion arising from unrestricted licensing.

“Amap highly recognises the prudent attitude of ‘total volume control and dynamic assessment’,” it said in its submission to the Legco.

The company added that it would leverage its capabilities to provide strong data support for the government’s subsequent dynamic assessments.

Amap is owned by Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

Didi said it understood that formulating and implementing the new scheme must account for safety, order, stability and passenger needs.