A three-wheeled bajaj taxi takes passengers to their destination in Jakarta, on Feb 13. [Photo/Agencies] JAKARTA - Auto-rickshaw driver Zainuddin used to make decent money navigating Jakarta's congested roads and narrow alleyways. But now US-based Uber, Google-backed Go-Jek and Singapore's Grab are locked in a race for ride-hailing app supremacy in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, denting the fortunes of traditional three-wheeled bajaj taxis that once ruled Indonesia's roads. Our income has fallen between 70 and 80 percent since ride-hailing apps came on the scene, said Zainuddin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. There were about 14,000 bajaj on Indonesia's roads by 2015, according to the latest official figures. By contrast, Go-Jek alone claims 900,000 drivers and about 15 million weekly active users. It launched in 2010. Google and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek have announced investments in Go-Jek, which has been valued at as much as $5 billion although it's little known outside Asia. Southeast Asia's ride-hailing market more than doubled in two years to some $5 billion in 2017 and it's expected to reach $20 billion by 2025, with Indonesia set to account for some 40 percent of it, according to research done by Google and Temasek. Go-Jek, which also reportedly won funding from Chinese internet giant Tencent, has said it is mulling an initial public offering as it looks to grow in Indonesia and beyond. That could inflate its army of motorcycle taxis, private cars and other services - from massage and house cleaning to grocery shopping and package deliveries. Dragging behind its regional rivals, Uber is reportedly selling parts of its Southeast Asian operations to rival Grab in exchange for a stake in the Singaporean company. The ride-hailing trio offer fixed-price rides that take haggling out of the equation, a welcome change for former bajaj customer Tetty Iskandar. I haven't taken a bajaj in years, said the 35-year-old housewife, who used to ride the three-wheelers to go grocery shopping. Cheap fares You had to bargain with the drivers to get cheap fares. And you would already have done bargaining a lot in the market. Sometimes I felt so tired and just wanted to get home. The vast archipelago of some 260 million people has a relatively low per capita car ownership rate. And vehicle owners often choose to leave their ride at home, opting instead for a fixed-price motorcycle that can zip through Jakarta's epic traffic congestion - at a bargain-basement prices. That is threatening bajaj - not to mention regular cabs and ubiquitous motorbike taxis known as ojek - which arrived in Indonesia during the 1970s. The name bajaj is now inked into Jakarta's lexicon after supplanting traditional bicycle taxis. A distinctive blue model of the vehicle is still a common sight and while pollution-spewing older models are outlawed, some still ply the narrow alleyways of Indonesia's sprawling capital. Government efforts to reduce traffic snarls by reintroducing bicycle taxis could further chip away at the market share of bajaj, which cannot operate on highways and certain busy streets. Agence France-presse wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
[Photo/VCG] BEIJING - China has adopted a fast-track approach in its drug evaluation and approval system, allowing more new domestic drugs, innovative drugs and imported drugs to hit the market in 2018. Last year, the Center for Drug Evaluation of State Drug Administration proposed to approve 59 imported branded drugs and 11 new domestic drugs, including two traditional Chinese medicines, according to an SDA statement. Nine of the 11 domestic drugs were first approved across the world. Most of the newly approved were anti-cancer, antiviral and orphan drugs (drugs for the treatment of rare diseases). Among the approved ones, 18 were antineoplastic while many were for tumor indications, which will bring about more therapy alternatives for chemotherapy, the SDA said. The speedy approval of some specific medicines has enabled Chinese patients to receive better treatment. For instance, China in May approved Epclusa for the treatment of adults with chronic Hepatitis C virus infections, the latest treatment for the disease. China also created a special channel for clinical drug-trials, which previously took two to three years after application but is only 60 days currently, if no queries or negative feedback are returned to the applicants. The SDA Center for Drug Evaluation has communicated more with drug enterprises in new drug research and development. As of Dec 10, the center had received and handled a total of more than 1,500 communication applications, the statement said. Meanwhile, the SDA has accelerated the process to introduce clinically needed new drugs from overseas, with 10 types accessible at home now and more expected this year, it said. China will continue deepening the reform of drug evaluation and approval, and will make more efforts such as simplifying the requirements for importing overseas drugs and encouraging the research and development of innovative drugs, it added.
