Bolt, an Estonian e-hailing firm, has obtained a licence from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) to operate in Malaysia. This is according to the agency’s updated list of licensed ride-hailing operators, which added the new player last month.
We first saw a hint of the company’s local expansion back in March, when it posted a job listing for a country manager. Following that, it launched a recruitment page for Malaysian drivers in the Klang Valley area on its website.
Bolt’s app now also has a teaser that confirms its imminent arrival, stating that it will be launching in Malaysia soon, but does not reveal an exact timeline. As for what services will be available, its website only lists its standard e-hailing service for Kuala Lumpur, so we may not see the platform introduce its food delivery and courier services here at launch.
Bolt currently operates in over 45 countries, but its only presence in Southeast Asia so far has been in Thailand. This means that Malaysia is set to become the second market in the region to be involved in the company’s expansion. With the new licence and the teaser on its app, it is likely that we will see an announcement in the near future.
(Source: APAD)
