PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) will begin its investigation into any possibility of monopoly following complaints lodged with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) when e-hailing operators Grab and Uber merged in March.
The Domestic Trade and Consumerism Ministry said the MyCC had begun talks with the e-hailing operators involved.
The commission, which is one of the agencies under the ministry, had its first meeting on March 30, four days after the announcement of Grab and Uber merger, it added.
“MyCC has its second meeting with Grab and Uber together with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) on April 30.
“The ministry has been fully briefed by the commission on the concrete steps taken to conduct full-scale investigation into complaints and conduct analysis on the feedback it has received from Grab and Uber early this week,” it said in a statement today.
The ministry was responding to recent reports quoting Transport Minister Anthony Loke as saying that the government would begin to investigate any element of monopoly when Grab and Uber merged.
MyCC, it said, had the authority to take action when a merger creates a monopoly in the market.
Under Section 10(1) of the Competition Act 2010, it states that an enterprise is prohibited from engaging, whether independently or collectively, in any conduct which amounts to an abuse of a dominant position in any market for goods or services.
“The ministry and MyCC will always support the government’s effort to create an open market that is founded on transparency, good corporate administration and ethical trade practices,” it added.