Singapore: Issued CCCS interim ruling on Uber's acquisition of a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab

On 13 April 2018, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) issued an interim ruling in the investigation into Uber's acquisition of a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab Holdings Inc. (Grab). The investigation was initiated as there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that section 54 of the Competition Act 2004 had been infringed. The interim measures include the obligation to continue to make Uber's ride-hailing services available in Singapore until 7 May 2018, with customer support to handle contractual and payment issues for drivers and riders. Further, each party is obligated to maintain their pre-transactional independent pricing, including its pre-transactional algorithm pricing matrix and its pre-transactional driver commission rates and commission structures. Moreover, Uber riders and drivers shall not be required to migrate to Grab's application. Considering data security, the interim measures prohibit Grab from receiving operational data acquired through Uber. Only personal data from drivers and riders who have expressed consent to move to the Grab ride-hailing platform may be shared. Lastly, new drivers entering into a driver's agreement on Grab's ride-hailing platform after the completion of the transaction shall not be subject to exclusivity obligations, lock-in periods and/or termination fees.