This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 3, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the government will monitor Grab’s monopoly, following its takeover of rival Uber Technologies Inc’s Southeast Asian operations, to ensure the e-hailing service industry will not be negatively affected.

“I had a discussion with Grab on March 26, and they guaranteed to us that there will not be any form of price hike or unfair pricing. If pricing discrimination happens, I have stressed to Grab that we will take action through the Malaysia Competition Act, by collaborating with the Malaysia Competition Commission,” she said.

Nancy, who was speaking during the Dewan Rakyat’s question-and-answer session in Parliament yesterday, was responding to Lembah Pantai member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar’s query on concerns about Grab’s monopoly.

“The government will monitor the market so that the e-hailing industry will not be negatively affected by a monopoly, because this is part of the effort to encourage existing taxi drivers to convert to the e-hailing system,” she added.

On the same day, Reuters reported that the Philippines’ competition watchdog is looking at whether the deal by Uber to sell its Southeast Asian business to Grab will substantially reduce competition.

“The Grab-Uber acquisition is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the riding public and the transportation services. As such, the PCC (Philippine Competition Commission) is looking at the deal closely,” the PCC was quoted as saying in a statement.

The deal, said the PCC, will put Grab in a virtual monopoly in the ride-sharing market. The review will determine whether the transaction substantially reduces competition, the PCC said, adding that it would meet representatives of Grab and Uber.

“Should anticompetitive concerns arise, Uber and Grab may propose commitments to remedy it. In the event they do not submit voluntarily, the commission can open a case that may block the deal,” it was reported as saying.

Grab announced last Monday that it was taking over Uber’s operations in the region. In return, Uber would emerge as a substantial stakeholder with a 27.5% equity interest in Grab.

According to Grab, this is the “largest deal of its kind in the region” although the two ride-hailing firms declined to reveal the deal’s price tag.

Last Friday, the Competition Commission of Singapore, the island nation’s competition watchdog, also said it had reasonable grounds to suspect competition had been infringed on by the Grab-Uber deal.

The commission, according to the news agency, has started a probe into the deal and proposed interim measures that will require Grab and Uber to maintain their pre-transaction independent pricing. The proposal also requires the two parties not to take any action that might lead to the integration of their businesses in Singapore.