SINGAPORE: Singapore’s competition watchdog said it had reasonable grounds to suspect competition had been infringed by Uber Technologies Inc’s deal to sell its operations in Southeast Asia to rival ride-hailing firm Grab.
In a rare move, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has started an investigation into the deal and proposed interim measures that will require Uber and Grab to maintain their pre-transaction independent pricing, the watchdog said in a statement on Friday.
The proposal also requires Uber and Grab not to take any action that might lead to the integration of their businesses in Singapore, a move likely to pose a major hurdle to the US company’s attempt to improve profitability by exiting the loss-making Southeast Asian market.
It is the first time the commission has issued interim measures on any business in the country.
Uber and Grab announced the deal on Monday, marking the US company’s second retreat from an Asian market.
Under the deal, Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Grab, which is valued at around $6 billion, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join the Singapore-based company’s boar d.
CCS proposals also require both Grab and Uber not to obtain from each other any confidential information including pricing, customers and drivers.
The two firms will be given an opportunity to make written representations to the CCS upon receipt of the proposed interim measures, it said.
Singapore has a voluntary merger notification regime, and CCS has yet to receive the notification from Uber and Grab as of Friday, although the companies have indicated their intention to file a formal merger notification, CCS said.
Grab and Uber were not immediately available for comment.
The deal is the industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, and is widely expected to give Uber more firepower to focus on other markets including India, as it prepares for an IPO in 2019.
Uber lost $4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition at home in the United States and across Asia, as well as a regulatory crackdown in Europe. The firm has invested $700 million in its Southeast Asian operations.
Singapore watchdog says Uber-Grab deal may have infringed competition
Singapore watchdog says Uber-Grab deal may have infringed competition
SIDF finances 5k projects with over $53.3bn
RIYADH: The Saudi Industrial Development Fund has approved up to 5,000 projects — representing about 40 percent of the Kingdom’s industrial base — with a total investment value nearing SR200 billion ($53.3 billion), according to Khalil Al-Nammari, executive vice president for strategic planning and business development at the fund, who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.
This brought the fund’s total approved investments since its establishment in the 1970s to more than SR700 billion.
During the Vision 2030 period alone, the fund approved loans ranging between SR86 billion and SR90 billion, Al-Nammari said.
These loans attracted nearly SR190 billion in investments, highlighting the scale of expansion and growth in industrial lending and related sectors.
Repositioning within national ecosystem
Al-Nammari noted that the fund has repositioned itself within the national economic ecosystem in recent years, benefiting from the major transformation driven by Saudi Vision 2030.
He said the fund, which marked its 50th anniversary last year, has shifted from its traditional role of financing industry to a broader mandate covering industry, energy, mining, and logistics, adding that the expansion required a comprehensive strategic shift in lending mechanisms, services, and programs offered to these new sectors.
The fund launched innovative financing solutions and established the Industrial Fund Academy, which has so far trained more than 11,000 trainees from the public and private sectors.
According to the executive vice president, the scale of work and results achieved since the launch of Vision 2030 is equivalent to what was achieved over 36 years since the fund's establishment, underscoring the momentum generated by the vision and its derived strategies.
Long-term development partnership
Al-Nammari stressed that the fund's success is measured by the ability of projects to be built, operated, exported, and scaled, not only by the size of financing, pointing out that relationships with clients often extend 15 to 20 years due to the long-term nature of development loans.
On measuring development impact, Al-Nammari said economic feasibility studies, market analysis, and engineering assessments form the foundation before any loan is approved.
He added that the SIDF evaluates project performance after operations begin by monitoring financial statements, operational progress, production capacity, and sales growth, as well as export capabilities.
He added that the fund also assesses job creation and quality, all of which are indicators factored into lending decisions from the outset and monitored throughout the loan term.
As part of this effort, the fund conducts regular visits to more than 1,000 active projects in its portfolio to track construction and operational phases, assess financing needs, and provide solutions, advisory support, and academic services.
The goal is to ensure factories achieve their production targets, adhere to business plans, and enter local and global markets, contributing to industrial growth, higher exports, and greater sector contribution to gross domestic product.
New financing channels to attract capital
In the coming years, the fund will continue to focus on the sectors identified by the national strategy, spanning 12 areas, including food and pharmaceutical security, as well as future-oriented sectors such as clean energy, hydrogen, and electric vehicle components, as well as renewable energy, and supporting supply chains.
Al-Nammari said the fund has recently focused on creating new financing channels aimed at attracting capital from the private sector, banks, and investment funds.
In this context, the fund has launched the SIDF Investment Co., which holds existing commitments of SR50 million in funds and firms that support investment in the industrial sector.
Moreover, it has introduced the Supply Chain Financing program, the largest of its kind globally, aimed at providing financing solutions for the invoices of suppliers to major national companies.
The program is currently operating with firms such as Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Electricity Co., helping to support national supply chains and enhance the sustainability of small, medium, and advanced industrial projects alike.
