KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 26): Grab Holdings Inc said today it had in March 2018 acquired rival Uber Technologies Inc's Southeast Asian operations in good faith, believing the purchase will create more efficiencies and benefits for the public in the electronic-based ride-hailing (e-hailing) sector.

A Grab spokesperson said in a statement today that to date, the company has fully cooperated with the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) in the regulator's request for information. The e-hailing company said it was not aware of any breach of Malaysian competition laws since the acquisition in March 2018.

"Grab plays a complementary role in the entire public transportation ecosystem in Malaysia, most often serving the first-mile-last-mile needs of commuters to and from public transit.

"Today, commuters in Malaysia continue to have the choice of getting from one point to another through public transport, street-hail taxis or more than 30 other licensed e-hailing apps," it said.

Grab's statement today is in response to a Bloomberg report that Malaysia is advancing an anti-monopoly investigation into the Singapore-based company, to bring greater competition to the Malaysian economy.

Bloomberg quoted MyCC chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail as saying last Thursday (Sept 19) the anti-monopoly watchdog was stepping up its Grab probe, which was first announced last year by the country's transport ministry.

"He declined to elaborate on specific steps the commission was taking. The investigation follows multiple complaints starting from last year accusing Grab of monopolistic practices after it bought Uber's Southeast Asian operations," the newswire reported.