(Yicai) July 19 -- Meituan will reportedly launch its overseas food delivery platform KeeTa in Riyadh in September or October, with the Chinese takeout giant further expanding its offshore business after entering Hong Kong last year.

Meituan began recruiting for its takeout business in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in April and is preparing to start its local business, including marketing, rider training, and restaurant alliances, National Business Daily reported today.

Meituan has sent a dozen employees to the Middle East to develop the local market, the report said. The team reports to Qiu Guangyu, head of KeeTa, who visited Riyadh several times in the past two months to facilitate the business.

Meituan launched KeeTa in Hong Kong last May, taking the first step toward its development outside the Chinese mainland. Over 44 percent of takeaway orders in Hong Kong were made on KeeTa in March, making it the city's top platform ahead of Foodpanda and Deliveroo.

Local platform Jahez and HungerStation, a sub-brand of German takeaway giant Delivery Hero, lead the Saudi takeaway market with a market share of 70 percent, posting significant competitive pressure on KeeTa, according to the report.

Saudi Arabia's takeaway market is promising thanks to the demographic dividend and policy-driven economic growth, a report from GF Securities showed. It grew 14 percent to USD4.3 billion in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier and will likely reach USD9.9 billion by 2030.

Editor: Martin Kadiev