Uber chief to visit India, Japan in Feb on charm offensive

The ride-sharing firm new head will make his first visit to Asia next month.

Tokyo: Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will make his first visit to Asia next month as the new head looks to improve the image of the controversial ride-sharing firm in the region. 

Khosrowshahi will visit Japan and India in the week of Feb. 19 to meet with high-ranking government officials, regulators, business partners and employees, an Uber spokesperson said. 

"Asia is an important region for Uber, and a focus for our investment in 2018 and beyond," the spokesperson said, adding that Khosrowshahi plans to discuss "ways Uber can better serve riders, drivers and cities".

Khosrowshahi`s visit will bolster efforts by Uber`s Asia head, Brooks Entwistle, to reassure regulators after a string of controversies damaged the firm`s reputation and led to the exit of Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick in 2017.

Last week, Uber received a much-needed boost when a consortium led by SoftBank Group Corp closed a deal to take a 17.5 percent stake.