US-based consumer business review service Yelp officially launched its service in Taiwan on Thursday.
Yelp has been hoping to expand its Asian presence. The San Francisco-based company said in a statement that “Beginning today, people throughout Taiwan are able to create accounts on Yelp.com.tw to share their opinions about great local businesses.”
Yelp also launched its iPhone and Android applications in Taiwan and designed tools for Taiwanese business owners.
Yelp’s Vice President Miriam Warren said that Taiwan’s 23 million residents “are in many ways, very similar to Yelp’s home population in Silicon Valley”. Warren went on to say that Taiwanese people’s love of discovery and of new experiences, as well as the fact that a bevy of influential technology brands call Taiwan their home, definitely makes Yelp a natural fit in Taiwan.
Yelp is available in more than 25 countries, but its presence in Asia has been limited to Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong until now.