Mideast company targets regional market worth around $25bn Ride-hailing firm being acquired by Uber in $3.1bn deal LONDON: Careem’s food-delivery service has expanded into Riyadh, the Middle East ride-hailing company said on Sunday. Careem Now, as the service is known, is linked to more than 100 restaurants in the Saudi capital at its launch. They include Applebees, Fuddruckers and Baskin-Robbins. The food-delivery app will initially cover 10 districts but “is expanding rapidly across the city to offer deliveries to all areas,” Careem said in a statement. Careem ride-hailing customers will be able to log into the Careem Now app with their existing credentials, with any credit card details automatically linked, Careem said. “The people of Riyadh are now able to enjoy the same Careem Now service that we successfully launched in Jeddah back in December. Only 15 percent of the food delivery market in our region currently operates via app, but Careem Now enables users to order from a wide range of restaurants easily and with rapid door-to-door delivery,” said Adeeb Warsi, ma“The idea of having to call up a restaurant and read out a list of items, and hope it’s all written down correctly, are increasingly over. Ordering by app is how the industry is moving. The younger generations are driving digital ordering — which in the US is growing three times faster than dine-in traffic — and it’s a trend we believe is coming here.” Careem said the food-delivery market in its target countries is predicted to grow to around $25 billion by 2022. Careem Now plans to launch in Karachi and Amman “in the coming months.” Global ride-hailing firm Uber, which is backed by investment from Saudi Arabia, said in March it will spend $3.1 billion to acquire Careem. Uber Eats, a food-delivery service operated by the US firm, is already operational in Riyadh.naging