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Vietnam: Watchdog appeals Grab-Uber antitrust ruling

By  |  July 1, 2019
Vietnam’s competition watchdog has appealed a ruling that Grab did not violate antitrust laws in its acquisition of Uber’s operations in the country.

The Vietnam Competition and Customer Protection Authority (VCA) said in a statement that it disagreed with the ruling of the Vietnam Competition Council (VCC) on June 17, saying the acquisition has led to Grab controlling Uber’s operations in the country, which is a violation of the law.

VCA is under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, while VCC is independent of the ministry. The Competition Law states that if any merger or acquisition leads to a 50 percent market share for a company, it can only be carried out with official approval.

VCA’s statement came after the Vietnam Competition Council had said the Grab-Uber deal in Vietnam did not involve equity. Grab did not have voting rights in Uber Vietnam after the transaction, it had said, adding that the Netherlands-based Uber B.V. continued to operate the Uber app after the deal, not GrabTaxi.

Full Content: VN Express

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