SINGAPORE, April 6 — Local users of the Uber app can continue using it until April 15, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said today as it continued its investigation into the merger between the US ride-hailing pioneer and Grab, its Singapore-based rival.
Uber’s app was initially due to be shut here on April 8, as part of changes triggered by Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s South-east Asia operations. However, news of the deal prompted the commission to launch an investigation, as well as to issue a set of proposed interim directives to both companies to “preserve and/or restore competition and market conditions”.
This meant that both parties would have to maintain their pre-transaction pricing, pricing policies and product options for their services in Singapore. Under the proposed directives, Grab and Uber would not be able to obtain any confidential information from the other party, including information related to pricing, formulas, customers and drivers, said the commission. Grab would also ensure that Uber drivers joining Grab’s ride-hailing platform of their own accord are not subject to any exclusivity clauses, lock-in periods and/or termination fees.
The commission said today that both companies had agreed to extend the deadline for the shutdown of Uber’s app by one week in order to facilitate the investigation of the merger. The extension is limited to the Singapore market, according to a Grab spokesperson.
In its statement, the CCCS also disclosed that both ride-hailing companies had written to the commission to offer alternatives to the interim arrangement introduced by the commission. TODAY understands that Uber and Grab submitted separate proposals.
The CCCS said it was reviewing the proposals, but gave no details on what they entailed. Asked how long its investigation would take, the commission told TODAY that it would depend on the “facts and circumstances of the case”, and the “level of co-operation” by Uber, Grab and relevant third-parties.
“CCCS is aware of the need to expedite investigations in this case,” the commission added.
Grab declined to discuss the proposals, saying that they were still being reviewed by the commission. Uber declined to comment and said TODAY’s queries should be referred to Grab.
Grab’s spokeperson expressed optimism that the alternative interim measures submitted to the commission would “ease concerns around the contestability of the dynamic point-to-point transport market”. The firm also said its alternative proposals will allow it to “run a competitive business and remain agile and flexible so that we can innovate and deliver better services.”
“We hope the CCCS will complete its review in an expeditious manner, so that we can continue competing with incumbent transport companies and with new entrants,” the spokesperson added.
News of the extension of the Uber app came hours after Grab’s version suffered its second outage in a week.
Grab’s ride-hailing app was down around lunchtime today, with an error message warning users that the service was experiencing a “technical issue”. Regular services resumed around 12.40pm.
Grab suffered a more extensive outage on Tuesday night that affected its customers and drivers across several South-east Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The company blamed its “underlying infrastructure” for the outage, but did not give further details. — TODAY
