Grab defends position in Uber deal to Singapore's anti-monopoly watchdog

SINGAPORE (July 27): Grab said on Friday it disagreed with the Singaporean anti-monopoly watchdog’s assessment that its takeover of Uber’s operations had harmed competition and called the commission’s suggested measure of removing exclusivity arrangements with drivers as “one-sided”.

Earlier this year, Uber Technologies sold its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab in exchange for a stake in the Singapore-based firm. But the deal has prompted regulatory scrutiny.

In early July, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) provisionally found that the merger had substantially reduced competition and suggested various remedies, such as the sale of their car-leasing businesses and removing exclusivity obligations on drivers who use Grab’s ride-hailing platform.