The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) announced that it has started a thorough investigation into the ride-hailing company Grab Holdings’ proposed acquisition of Trans-cab, Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator.
Nasdaq-listed Grab announced in July that it planned to buy Trans-cab in a deal that included Trans-cab’s more than 2,500-car fleet of both private hire and taxis.
Following the regulator’s comment indicating that it was unable to confirm that the deal would not raise competition concerns, the parties submitted the required paperwork to the CCCS on January 25. As a result, the review was put into motion.
“Upon completion of the review, the CCCS will decide whether to issue a favourable or an unfavourable decision on the proposed acquisition,” the CCCS said in a statement.
The commission concluded that Grab’s two-year plan to address CCCS’s concerns about competition was insufficient. It also claimed that Grab’s self-policing monitoring system was inadequate.
According to the regulator, Grab is free to suggest updated commitments that would address the issues brought up throughout the review.
