Singapore – The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has expressed concerns that Grab’s plan to acquire taxi operator Trans-cab will significantly undermine competition.
In a media release on Thursday (Jul 11), CCCS stated that both drivers and passengers might face higher prices if Grab’s competitors are weakened due to the acquisition. This could also reduce the variety of ride-hailing services available.
CCCS highlighted that Grab acknowledges the acquisition will likely enable significant savings on driver incentives compared to other methods of increasing driver supply.
In its provisional decision, CCCS concluded that the acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the ride-hailing market, potentially violating Singapore’s competition laws, which prohibit anti-competitive mergers.
Grab and Trans-cab have 10 working days to respond to the issues raised by CCCS, after which a final decision will be made on whether to block or approve the deal.
Announced last July, the acquisition involves Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator, Trans-cab, which has over 2,500 vehicles. The deal includes Trans-cab’s taxi and car rental business, maintenance workshop, and fuel pump operations. The companies have stated that the transaction will be executed through Grab’s private-hire car rental arm, Grab Rentals.
