A locally developed ride-hailing app was unveiled on Friday in Viet Nam, giving travellers yet another option in the rapidly expanding market, Viet Nam News Agency reported.

APPP, developed by Viet Nam’s University of Transport Technology with funding from German-based investment company Sapa Thale, will work similarly to Uber and Grab but with a better understanding of local travel habits, its developers said.

Uber and Grab are both popular services in Viet Nam and considered major rivals to traditional taxi companies, which have reported losses due to the competition.

While the other apps estimate the fare of each trip in advance, APPP allows the customer to negotiate the fare with 8 drivers before booking, the developers said at the launch.

The investor expects a door-opening fare of between 8,000 - 8,500 VND (0.35 - 0.38 USD) and for fees to range from 6,000 - 6,300 VND per km.

Sapa Thale said it has submitted an application to license the service with the transport ministry. No timeframe for a commercial launch has been revealed.

(Source: VNExpress International)