Uber ‘success story’ removed from Hong Kong government investment agency website after police raid car-hailing app

A Hong Kong government agency which endorsed Uber as one of its “success stories” has distanced itself from the car-hailing app after police raids on the company’s offices in the city and arrest of five drivers in a crackdown on unlicensed transport services.

InvestHK, the government’s vehicle to attract foreign investment, deleted a webpage providing a glowing appraisal for the online-car hire giant just hours after the raid yesterday and by this morning had removed any trace of its links with Uber.

However, cached versions of the webpages were still accessible through search engines.

In response to the removal of the Uber case study from the InvestHK website, a spokesman said: "There are legal ways in Hong Kong for companies to offer car rental services via mobile applications, but not all mobile car booking applications can meet the legal requirements in Hong Kong.

“As Uber is now being investigated for allegedly operating outside of the legal ambit, as a standard procedure InvestHK has removed the case study from its website."

The agency said it aimed from the outset to ensure the companies it supported are aware of the regulatory regime for their particular business. “It is then the responsibility of the company concerned to ensure regulatory compliance," it added.