Investigation into Grab's acquisition of Uber in Vietnam results announced hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Source: nld.com.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The investigation into Grab's acquisition of Uber in Southeast Asia, including the Vietnamese market, ended on November 18, said the Department of Competition and Consumer Protection (DCCP) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Based on the results of verifying the facts and evidence of the case during the investigation process, the department said that Grab's acquisition of Uber had signs of violations on notification of economic concentration stipulated in Article 20 of the Law on Competition, and the act of economic concentration prohibited under Article 18 of the Law on Competition.

At present, the department has completed the transfer of its investigation report and conclusion, as well as the case’s dossier to the Vietnam Competition Council to handle the case in line with provisions of the Law on Competition.

The case is handled in accordance with orders and procedures specified in Sections 5 and 6, Chapter V of the Law on Competition. Accordingly, after receiving the investigation report and the dossier, the council’s chair will decide on the establishment of a council to handle the case.

Within 30 days after receiving the dossier, the case-handling council may issue one of decisions, including returning the dossier for further investigation (within 60 days), suspending the competition case, or opening a hearing to issue a decision on the handling of the case.

According to the department, its director signed a conclusion document of the investigation of the case in accordance with Clause 9, Article 76 of the Law on Competition on November 30.

Previously, in April, the MoIT’s Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) decided to conduct a preliminary investigation into Grab’s purchase of Uber’s stakes in Vietnam, which is suspected of breaching regulations on economic concentration under the country’s Law on Competition 2004.

Grab is one of the most frequently used O2O (online-to-offline) mobile platforms in 195 cities in Southeast Asia. More than 5 million people use the combined platform daily.

Vietnam is not the only country where Grab is currently under fire. Other Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia, are all requesting a detailed explanation of the company’s acquisition of Uber out of concern about the risk of Grab’s monopoly in the market. –VNA 
VNA