MANILA, Philippines – The country's antitrust watchdog, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), has asked Uber and Grab to continue using their own platforms beyond Sunday, April 8, in order not to preempt the review of the sale of Uber's Southeast Asian business to its rival firm Grab.
"We will impose that the Uber and Grab [apps] will continue to operate beyond April 8, and that they will be [still] operating independently," PCC Commissioner Stella Luz Quimbo said in a public hearing in Pasig City on Thursday, April 5. (READ: PCC warns Grab-Uber deal may have 'far-reaching impact' on commuters)
This comes after Grab announced that the PCC review would not stop the full transition of Uber Philippines' drivers to Grab's platform by Sunday.
Uber announced last March 26 that it sold its operations in Southeast Asia to Grab. In turn, Uber will receive a 27.5% stake in the business.
"[From] a business standpoint, Uber exited 8 markets, including the Phiippines, as of Monday. Now, I look after 10 markets, instead of 18. Our funding is gone. Our people are gone. We don't intend to come back to these markets," Brooks Entwistle, Uber's Asia Pacific chief business officer, said during the hearing.
Even if the deal falls below the threshold of the PCC's mergers and acquisitions review, the antitrust agency has started to look into the potential effects of the transaction, expressing concern that it would lead to "a virtual monopoly in the ride-sharing market." (READ: As Uber gives up Philippine operations to Grab, what now for commuters?)
Should anti-competitive concerns arise, the PCC said Grab and Uber may propose commitments to remedy, mitigate, or prevent negative effects on market competition. – Rappler.com