VCA submits complaint about Grab-Uber ruling

July 04, 2019 | 07:38

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The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (VCA) submitted a complaint about the decision of the Vietnam Competition Authority that the acquisition deal between Grab and Uber does not violate Vietnam’s Competition Law.

vca submits complaint about grab uber ruling

The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority does not agree with the Vietnam Competition Authority's decision on the legality of the Grab-Uber deal

A few days ago, the VCA submitted a complaint letter to the Vietnam Competition Authority to protest its decision, citing various signs of violations in the deal.

Notably, the VCA disagreed with Decision No.26/QD-HDXL in which Vietnam Competition Authority refused to issue a fine or solutions to prevent unfair competition caused by the deal between Grab and Uber. According to the Vietnam Competition Authority, the acquisition of Grab on Uber is not an illegal economic concentration under Article 17 of the Competition Law.

According to the VCA, by buying the entire assets of Uber Vietnam, Grab has gained control over its operations, which is effectively an illegal economic concentration under Article 17(3) of the Competition Law.

Besides, after studying the deal, the VCA found that Grab did not comply with the regulations when it did not report its economic concentration activity to comply with Article 20 of the Competition Law 2004.

The Vietnam Competition Authority will have to deal with the complaint within 30 days of receiving it.

Grab announced on March 26, 2018 that it had purchased Uber’s operations across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. However, the merger was earlier judged as anti-competitive by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, which fined the parties to a combined S$13 million ($9.5 million).

Meanwhile, the Philippine Competition Commission had approved the merger in August, with conditions related to pricing and service quality. Two months later, the watchdog imposed a penalty of nearly $300,000 on Grab and Uber for violating the conditions.

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