SINGAPORE: Ride-hailing company Grab maintains that it has not broken any competition laws but will abide by directions imposed by Singapore’s anti-monopoly watchdog.
On Monday (Sep 24), the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) slapped a combined fine of S$13 million on Grab and former rival Uber over their merger, saying that the deal has led to the eroding of competition.
AdvertisementIn an emailed statement, Grab Singapore head Lim Kell Jay said Grab completed the deal within its legal rights, and maintained that it did not intentionally or negligently breach competition laws.
He said Grab will abide by the remedies set out by the watchdog. “However, it is unfortunate that the CCCS is taking a very narrow market definition in arriving at its conclusion that the transaction has led to a substantial lessening of competition,” he added.
[h=3]READ: Singapore competition watchdog fines Grab, Uber S$13 million in total over merger deal[/h]Grab was fined S$6.42 million by CCCS to “deter completed, irreversible mergers that harm competition”.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe watchdog also ordered Grab to remove exclusivity arrangements with drivers and taxi fleets, and to maintain its pre-merger pricing algorithm and driver commission rates.
In response, Mr Lim said Grab had not raised fares since the Uber merger.
“Grab will continue to adhere to our pre-transaction pricing model, pricing policies and driver commissions. We have been and will continue to submit weekly pricing data to the CCCS for monitoring,” he added.
Uber, which was fined S$6.58 million, said it believed CCCS' decision was based on an "inappropriately narrow definition of the market, and that it incorrectly describes the dynamic nature of the industry, among other concerns".
It said it would consider appealing the decision.
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