On Monday, October 22, Uber announced it will appeal a decision by Singapore’s antitrust watchdog that its merger with Grab violated the city-state’s competition laws, reported Reuters.
Last month, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) slapped a US$9.5 million combined fine on Uber and Grab, ruling that the former’s takeover of the latter’s Southeast Asia operations had substantially decreased competition in the local ride-hailing market.
Uber stated it was making the appeal independently of Grab, as a matter of principle. Separately, Grab announced it would not appeal the regulator’s decision.
The CCCS’s ruling that the transaction led to a substantial lessening of competition, and that Uber had intentionally breached the law, was “unsupported and incorrect,” Uber claimed in a statement.
Uber asked the CCCS to annul its fine and claimed the regulator had used a very narrow definition of the ride-hailing market.
Uber disputed the CCCS’s allegation that Uber knew that the transaction infringed the law, but nevertheless moved ahead. “To the contrary, our view has always been that in a properly defined market – including at the very least ride-sharing, street-hail taxis and new entrants – the transaction respects the law and does not raise significant concerns,” it stated.
THIS ARTICLE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR IP ADDRESS 216.73.216.71
Please verify email or join us
to access premium content!
