Amid reports that Uber was thinking about leaving the Southeast Asia region, the company confirmed a few days ago that it’s going to sell its entire business in Southeast Asia to local rival Grab. The deal makes Grab the dominant ride-hailing service in the market and regulators in Singapore have some concerns. They say that Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s business in the region may be against competition laws.
Grab, a company based in Singapore and operating in the wider region, announced its acquisition of Uber’s entire business in Southeast Asia earlier this week. Uber will no longer have a presence in the market but will get a 27.5 percent stake in Grab’s business which is currently valued at more than $6 billion.
Grab has already outlined its post-acquisition strategy which involves shutting down the Uber app within two weeks and moving all passengers and drivers to its platform. Uber Eats will also get integrated in Grab’s delivery service. Some customers have voiced concerns about this deal as well. They think that the prices could rise now that there’s less competition for Grab.
The Competition Commission of Singapore has announced that it’s examining the deal and that it has “reasonable grounds” to feel that the deal could violate section 54 of Singapore’s Competition Act. It has also proposed an Interim Measures Directions (IMD) which will require Grab and Uber to “maintain pre-transaction independent pricing, pricing policies and product options.”
“Grab has conducted its comprehensive due diligence and legal analysis with its advisers before entering into and concluding the transaction. We had engaged with the CCS prior to signing and continue to do so,” said Lim Kell Jay, head of Grab Singapore in a statement.