Ailing Singaporean grocery-delivery service Honestbee is “temporarily closing” its Taiwan operations as it continues to focus on its core Southeast Asian markets to ensure survival.

“Thank you for your support and affirmation for Honestbee during these days,” the company’s Taiwanese team posted on Facebook at the weekend. 

“Unfortunately, the Taiwan operations team received instructions from Singapore headquarters that will temporarily stop all operations in Taiwan.”

The post said services would resume when “the operation problems in Taiwan can improve and be resolved”.

According to the Taiwan News, in February Honestbee owed nearly 300 local restaurants NT$7.79 million (US$250,000) in outstanding payments for food bought by consumers, collected and delivered but never paid for by Honestbee. Some payments were settled by May, but the newspaper reports “some eateries [are] still due hundreds of thousands of NT dollars”.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs has opened an investigation into the company, and Honestbee decided on June 26 to suspend operations effective last Friday (28th).

Honestbee marketing manager Lee Wen-feng refused to confirm or deny to Taiwan News reports that the business was shutting down in Taiwan.

Honestbee’s problems came to a head in Singapore in early May when its co founder and CEO stepped down and the company suspended or closed down operations in five markets. Since then it suspended food deliveries in Singapore as well.