Vietnamese ride-hailing firm Green and Smart Mobility Joint Stock Company (GSM) could invest as much as $500 million in setting up its operations in the Philippines, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).
BOI told the BusinessMirror that GSM plans to roll out 15,000 electric vehicle taxis in the country within two to three years.
“Per the company, they are planning to invest $400-$500 million in two to three years,” the agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message.
The BOI said GSM, a private company of Pham Nhat Vhuong—the owner of Vingroup, one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam, “has expressed interest in entering the Philippine market and is rapidly moving forward with its plan to establish its operations in the country.”
“The company aims to provide eco-friendly taxi services utilizing VinFast electric cars exclusively in 2024.”
BOI told this paper that the Vietnamese ride-hailing firm plans to roll out EV taxi services by September or October. “They will be importing Vinfast EV cars.”
GSM plans to establish a presence in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao. For 2024, the BOI said 80 percent of the EV taxis that it will bring into the country will be rolled out in Metro Manila.
The agency told reporters that the company will apply for BOI registration and will also apply for green lane.
“Company is still preparing documents for the SEC registration application. Planned activity will fall under the Energy Efficiency Conservation (EEC) Act,” the BOI said in a viber message sent to reporters.
The agency noted that Vingroup, along with GSM, was one of the companies that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual met during the president’s visit to Vietnam last January.
According to the website of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, GSM officially began operating the first pure electric taxi service in Vietnam in April 2023.
Customers could book Green SM taxi services through hotline or through Green SM Taxi application available on App Store and Google Play.
Green SM Taxi is Vietnam’s first pure electric taxi company, providing passenger transportation services entirely by VinFast electric vehicles,” said Vingroup.
At a briefing held two weeks ago, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, who co-chairs the BOI, told reporters that the objective of reducing import duties on pure electric vehicles is to “have the critical mass of EVs to make the setting up of charging stations a feasible business, feasible operation.”
With this, the country’s trade chief noted that imposing zero tariffs on hybrid vehicles is “not justifiable” right now as doing so would go against the government’s goal of establishing the population for pure EVs.
Executive Order 12, which became effective in February 2023, temporarily reduced the rates of import duty on certain EVs and their parts and components for 5 years.
Image credits: D.H./Tuoi Tre