SINGAPORE, Singapore — Singapore on Monday fined ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber $9.5 million for breaking competition rules when they merged, saying the deal had increased fares and thrown up roadblocks for competitors. In the conclusion to its investigation, the commission said it had found the merger had substantially reduced "competition in the ride-hailing platform market in Singapore." The body also criticized Grab and Uber for not getting the commission's clearance before completing the deal. Lim Kell Jay, head of Grab Singapore, said the firm completed the deal "within its legal rights, and still maintains we did not intentionally or negligently breach competition laws." In the Philippines, the competition watchdog last month approved the merger but imposed conditions related to areas including pricing and exclusivity arrangements to prevent Grab acting like a monopoly.

Source: Philippine Star September 24, 2018 05:37 UTC