Meituan Should Play the Long Game in the Middle East
Riding into other markets is a good strategy for Meituan.
Photo: Cheng Xin/Getty Images
Meituan, China’s biggest food-delivery operator, was already grappling with losses from stiff competition across all of its main businesses. The last thing it needed was a war in Iran complicating efforts to grow in the Middle East. But despite the risks from the escalating conflict, it must stick to its expansion in the region.
A price war at home has devastated the earnings of all major Chinese e-commerce players — including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., JD.com Inc., and PDD Holdings Inc. — over the past year. For Meituan, an unexpected setback in Brazil has narrowed the range of options available to offset expected losses in its core domestic business as well its overseas operations. It must now ramp up its strategy across the six countries bordering the Persian Gulf where it first landed in September 2024.