Singapore

UBER'S entire business has been predicated on flooring it right at the establishment. Co-founder Travis Kalanick once said his company was in a campaign where "the incumbent is an a*****e called taxi". New boss Dara Khosrowshahi just pulled a U-turn in Singapore by striking a deal with ComfortDelGro, the powerful local cab operator.

It has been a rough ride for Uber in South-east Asia. As with the rest of the continent, cut-throat competition against deep-pocketed peers caused the company to burn through billions.