Photo shows a group of GrabBike riders in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MoIT) has set up a council to scrutinise alleged violationsof competition regulations in ride-hailing services firm Grab’s acquisition ofUber’s business in Vietnam.
Investigations will look at Grab Limited Companyand Uber Vietnam, both based in Ho Chi Minh City. Six other companies whichwere suspected of being involved will also be investigated but the ministry didnot disclose their names.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran QuocKhanh said the council would review Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s operations in Vietnam,findings of the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority andexplanations by relevant parties and existing regulations to make a decision.
According to the Vietnam Competition and ConsumerProtection Authority’s findings, announced in mid-December, the acquisitionviolated regulations on economic concentration in the Law on Competition.
The competition authority found that Grab’smarket share was more than 50 percent after the purchase.
Under the current regulations, if Grab held amarket share between 30-50 percent after the acquisition deal without reportingit to the management agency, the firm could be fined up to 10 percent of itsrevenue for the 2017 fiscal year. If the market share exceeded 50 percent, theacquisition deal might be banned.
Grab responded by saying it did not violatelaws, claiming its market share was below 30 percent following the sale dealand citing differences in market share calculations between the company and thecompetition authority.
In March 2018, Grab announced it had completedthe acquisition of Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Inexchange, Uber held a stake of 27.5 percent in Grab.
In last September, Singapore’s competitionwatchdog fined Grab 6.42 million USD and Uber 6.58 million USD over theirmerger, saying the deal had led to the erosion of competition in theride-hailing market, the Channel News Asia reported.-VNS/VNA
Investigations will look at Grab Limited Companyand Uber Vietnam, both based in Ho Chi Minh City. Six other companies whichwere suspected of being involved will also be investigated but the ministry didnot disclose their names.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran QuocKhanh said the council would review Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s operations in Vietnam,findings of the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority andexplanations by relevant parties and existing regulations to make a decision.
According to the Vietnam Competition and ConsumerProtection Authority’s findings, announced in mid-December, the acquisitionviolated regulations on economic concentration in the Law on Competition.
The competition authority found that Grab’smarket share was more than 50 percent after the purchase.
Under the current regulations, if Grab held amarket share between 30-50 percent after the acquisition deal without reportingit to the management agency, the firm could be fined up to 10 percent of itsrevenue for the 2017 fiscal year. If the market share exceeded 50 percent, theacquisition deal might be banned.
Grab responded by saying it did not violatelaws, claiming its market share was below 30 percent following the sale dealand citing differences in market share calculations between the company and thecompetition authority.
In March 2018, Grab announced it had completedthe acquisition of Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Inexchange, Uber held a stake of 27.5 percent in Grab.
In last September, Singapore’s competitionwatchdog fined Grab 6.42 million USD and Uber 6.58 million USD over theirmerger, saying the deal had led to the erosion of competition in theride-hailing market, the Channel News Asia reported.-VNS/VNA
VNA
