Grab insists Uber deal has ‘no anti-competitive effect’

GRAB PHILIPPINES (MyTaxi.PH) on Wednesday insisted its acquisition of Uber Philippines’ assets did not have an adverse effect on competition in the local ride-hailing market, contrary to the findings of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

“It is unfortunate that the PCC has concluded that the Transaction has adverse competition effects, in terms of allegedly higher prices and deteriorating service quality after the Transaction, which conclusions are not borne out by the regulatory and market analysis that we have procured to be undertaken,” Grab said in a statement.

“We are of the view that any perceived increase in price is a not an exercise of any market power, but the result of demand and supply imbalance given the current shortage of available drivers and the regulatory constraint relating to the Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) cap, which are outside of our control,” the company added.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had placed a 65,000 cap on TNVS units allowed to go on the road in Metro Manila.

Grab said the situation is “likely” to be temporary, as the LTFRB has already accredited five new transportation network companies.

The company said it is “engaging with the PCC to understand what it believes are the bases for its conclusions and to ensure that the PCC also has the benefit of our regulatory and market analysis, which would show that the Transaction has no anti-competitive effect.”

The PCC on Monday released its statement of concerns, noting the Grab-Uber deal “has resulted and will likely continue to result in substantial lessening of competition,” as well as “higher fares and increased frequency of surge-pricing applied.”

The PCC also noted that Grab has a near monopoly of both the driver and customer market, therefore allowing it to unilaterally increase prices.

But Grab public affairs head Leo Emmanuel K. Gonzales told on Tuesday that its fare structure did not change.

“Before Uber’s acquisition and after, the fare structure has been the same, totally the same. We did not deviate from what we were allowed to implement,” he said.

Grab said it has already started implementing changes to the Grab app to address driver cancellations, as well as launched the 100-day plan to improve driver and rider experience.

“Driver cancellations has already dropped by 60% compared to two weeks ago, when we just launched the 100-day campaign. We are working very hard to improve our services,” Mr. Gonzales said. —