TAIPEI: Uber said it would relaunch its ride-hailing service in Taiwan following a two-month hiatus on the island after sparring with authorities over legal issues.

The San Francisco-based giant, which has encountered regulatory roadblocks around the world despite its huge popularity, suspended operations in Taiwan in February due to an “impasse” with authorities who deemed it illegal.

But on Monday, the company said it would be re-entering the market with a new business model.

“A brand-new Uber will serve Taiwanese once again,” it said in a statement, without providing details or a date for the restart.

A source at Uber, who asked not to be named, said the model would involve working with “legal car-rental operators”.

Since it entered the Taiwan market in 2013, Uber had been racking up fines for running a business without the proper registration to operate as a taxi service.

In January, authorities hiked the maximum possible penalty to NT$25 million (RM3.6 million) per driver — the highest in the world.

The company withdrew from the market a month later, criticising the government’s actions for hindering innovation and called on President Tsai Ing-wen to take action.

Taiwan’s transport ministry said it would welcome Uber as long as it worked with licensed private drivers.  — AFP