According to a statement of Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) qouted by Reuters, “the Grab - Uber acquisition is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the riding public and the transportation services. As such, the PCC is looking at the deal closely.”
PCC said the acquisition will put Grab in a virtual monopoly in the ride-sharing market and it will determine whether this deal substantially reduces competition.
Malaysia also said that it will monitor Grab for possible anti-competitive behavior.
In “Philippines, Malaysia put Uber-Grab deal under anti-competition scrutiny” article published by Reuters, government minister Nancy Shukri whose portfolio oversees the public transport licensing authority in Malaysia said that “We won’t take it lightly. We will monitor this because it is still early days and we don’t know what will happen next. If there is any anti-competitive behavior, the Competition Act will come into force”.
On March 26, Uber agreed to sell its Southeast Asian operations to Grab and in return, it will get a 27.5 percent stake in Grab and its chief executive officer will join the board of Grab in Singapore.
In a statement, Grab’s CEO Anthony Tan emphasized that the deal between this company and Uber marks the beginning of a new era.
However, Grab seems to be struggling with this acquisition. A few days ago, the Competition Commission of Singapore began an investigation into this deal and proposed interim measures that will require Uber and Grab to maintain their pre-transaction independent pricing.
