Philippines investigates Grab-Uber deal

In a statement, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it will closely monitor the deal as the Grab-Uber acquisition is likely to have a far reaching impact on the public transport and transportation services.

The PCC said the deal will put Grab in a virtual monopoly in the ride-sharing market, and its review will determine whether the transaction substantially reduces competition. Philippine authorities have met with representatives of Grab and Uber.

In Indonesia, the anti-monopoly agency said it cannot say yet whether they will investigate the deal, as there are 30 days after the deal is finalised to assess it.

In a recent speech, Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the country will work to ensure fair competition in car pooling services.

Malaysia said on April 2 that it will put Grab on the anti-competition watchlist while Singapore announced earlier that it is investigating the Grab-Uber deal.

As part of the deal reached on March 26, Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Grab, marking its second exit in Asia.

The car pooling service is expected to expand five-fold to 13.1 billion USD by 2025.

Though present in more than 600 cities worldwide, Uber still faces challenges when facing scandals and protests from traditional taxi firms in both Asia and Europe.

According to Grab’s announcement to acquire Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, Grab will integrate Uber’s ridesharing and food delivery business in the region into Grab’s existing platform.

It will take over Uber’s operations and assets in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

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