Philippines: Issued fine to Grab and Uber for violation of Interim Measures Order

On 11 October 2018, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) issued a fine of PHP 16 million (ca. USD 275’000) to Grab Philippines and Uber for violating the Interim Measures Order (IMO) during the merger review period. The IMO aims to maintain pre-transaction market conditions in the businesses for the PCC to be able to review the merger without prejudice. Specifically, the PCC imposed a collective fine of PHP 4 million (ca. USD 70’000) for failure to keep their businesses separate, including Uber’s assumption of a board seat in Grab. Furthermore, the PCC fined Grab PHP 8 million (ca. USD 140’000) and Uber PHP 4 million (ca. USD 70’000) for failure to maintain conditions, such as pricing policies, driver incentives, and service quality, like they were before the transaction.