Singapore: Regulatory scrutiny could complicate ride-hailing company Grab’s takeover of Uber Technologies’ Southeast Asian business, but there is little the authorities can do to stop Uber from simply exiting the region, lawyers and analysts said.
Days after the deal was announced last week, antitrust agencies in Singapore and Philippines began to review it, with Malaysia saying it would follow suit.
Antitrust lawyers say Singapore-based Grab could try to mollify regulators by offering concessions such as price restrictions and subjecting itself to greater regulations. It could also argue that consumers still have many ride-hailing options to choose from.
“Rather than throwing out the deal, and especially with potential new entrants coming in, I believe that with the right safeguards, with the right commitments, the deal can still go through,” said Gerald Singham, deputy managing partner at law firm Dentons Rodyk.
If the deal falls apart, Uber could depart Singapore and leave Grab as the dominant player regardless, experts said.
Uber is already winding down its regional operations and has asked customers and drivers to transition to Grab’s platform. Five hundred Uber staffers will also move to Grab.
Market share data on the ride-hailing sector is patchy, but mobile data analytics firm App Annie ranks Grab ahead of Uber in all the big economies in Southeast Asia in terms of monthly active users. The exception is Indonesia, where Tencent Holdings-backed Go-Jek was ahead.
“An antitrust issue is all about how can you minimize a monopoly which is hitting pricing power and is bad for consumers. But the reality here is that consumers have other options with the incumbent taxi operators in all markets,” said a person familiar with the Grab deal who was not authorized to speak to the media.
Uber is selling its Southeast Asia operations, including its food-delivery unit, to Grab after a five-year battle that cost the US company $700 million. In return, Uber will get a 27.5 percent stake in Grab, which is valued at roughly $6 billion.
Grab’s president Ming Maa told Reuters that passengers and drivers had plenty of other transportation options, from taxis to public transport.
And Go-Jek plans to enter Singapore soon in its first international expansion, the Straits Times reported last week.
Kala Anandarajah, who leads the competition and antitrust practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore, said that though barriers to entry in the ride-hailing sector were relatively low in Singapore and Southeast Asia, new entrants had to start off big enough to compete effectively with a potential Grab-Uber entity.
Singapore’s antitrust agency told Reuters it would consider Go-Jek and taxi companies such as ComfortDelgro Corp. as part of the market as it determines competition during its investigation of the Grab-Uber deal.
The interim measures proposed by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore require Uber and Grab to maintain their pre-transaction independent pricing and not share any confidential data.
The commission said on Friday that Uber would put off shutting down its app in Singapore by a week until April 15.
It addded that it was reviewing proposals from both Grab and Uber to address its concerns.
Grab said it had “productive discussions” with the anti-competition agency on the alternative proposals, adding that thousands of former Uber drivers had signed up to Grab’s platform.
Grab has said the deal did not decrease competition and was beneficial to both riders and drivers.
“At this juncture, regulators don’t have much recourse since the assets being transferred from Uber to Grab are of little consequence. So even if the asset transfer is blocked, Grab’s goal, which is to push Uber out of Southeast Asia, has already been achieved,” said Corrine Png, chief executive of research firm Crucial Perspective.
“However, Grab will be careful not to step on the regulators’ toes,” Png added.
Grab deal with Uber has a rocky road to navigate
Grab deal with Uber has a rocky road to navigate
- If the deal falls apart, Uber could depart Singapore and leave Grab as the dominant player regardless.
- Uber is already winding down its regional operations and has asked customers and drivers to transition to Grab’s platform.
ACWA Power signs $800m water purchase agreement with Senegal
RIYADH: Saudi energy giant ACWA Power has signed an SR3 billion ($800 million) agreement with Senegal’s Ministry of Water to develop a desalination plant.
The company, partly owned by the Public Investment Fund, announced the inking of a water purchase agreement for the construction of the facility in Dakar, Senegal in a statement on the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul.
ACWA Power will be responsible for the infrastructure, design and financing as well as construction, operation and maintenance of the Grande Cote seawater desalination plant in the West African country.
The project will have a production capacity of 400,000 cubic meters per day, the statement said.
NEOM CEO lands in top 3 of Forbes’ Real Estate Leaders list
RIYADH: NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr has been ranked third in Forbes Middle East’s “Most Impactful Real Estate Leaders” list, underlining the Kingdom's prominence in the sector.
The giga-project chief was placed beneath Mohamed Al-Abbar from the UAE-based Emaar Properties, Talal Al Dhiyebi from Abu Dhabi-headquartered Talal Al-Dhiyebi.
The Kingdom saw the second most entries on the list, with 23 Saudis landing on the publication’s ranking.
This is a testament to the major investments the nation has made in its real estate sector, a statement from Forbes noted.
“Governments, corporates, and semi-government developers are investing in real estate projects throughout the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE. These projects are giving a huge boost to the regional construction sector, which also has a positive outlook over the next few years,” the statement said.
UAE, Japan to develop industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant in Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., also known as TAQA, together with JERA Co., Inc, Japan’s largest power generation company, announced Thursday that they have entered into a Power and Steam Purchase Agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., or SATORP, a joint venture company owned by Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies.
According to the Emirates News Agency, they will develop a greenfield industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant that will produce electricity and steam for the Amiral petrochemical complex to be developed in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The Amiral petrochemical complex is expected to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Arab Gulf region.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will include state-of-the-art power and steam generation systems, gas and water receiving systems, and gas-insulated switchgear interconnections while meeting stringent efficiency standards imposed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre.
The project also provides for the future installation of a carbon dioxide capture plant and is capable of hydrogen cofiring, WAM reported.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will be developed by a special purpose entity owned by TAQA, holding 51 percent, and JERA, holding 49 percent. It will operate on a build, own, and operate basis for 25 years, with the possibility of extension by five years upon mutual agreement.
TAQA and JERA will also undertake the operation and maintenance of the plant through an O&M special purpose entity.
Farid Al Awlaqi, CEO of TAQA Generation, said: “The signing of the offtake agreements for the cogeneration power and steam project at the Amiral petrochemical facility, a key downstream project being developed by two of the world’s leading energy companies, demonstrates the confidence in TAQA’s ability to deliver critical utilities, including power and steam effectively.
Together with our partner JERA, TAQA is looking forward to developing an efficient cogeneration plant that reduces carbon emissions and supports SATORP with its long-term decarbonization program. The agreement will bolster TAQA’s efforts in building on our growth and executing our 2030 goals.”
Steven Winn, chief global strategist of JERA, said: “We will be providing stable, highly efficient, clean and reliable power and steam to our customer SATORP. The Amiral Cogeneration plant will not only enhance the Amiral Complex’s operational efficiency, but also demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and our growth ambitions for sustainable power generation solutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region.”
Saudi media giant SRMG’s revenue grows to $997m
RIYADH: Saudi Research and Media Group’s revenues hit SR3.74 billion ($997 million) in 2023, reflecting a 0.98 percent increase compared to 2022 figures.
According to a Tadawul statement, this increase in sales is primarily attributed to enhanced revenue generated by the publishing and visual and digital content segment, as well as other divisions.
However, the printing and packaging business witnessed a decline in revenues due to several planned projects not being secured.
The total shareholders’ equity for the parent company, after excluding non-controlling interest, as of Dec. 31, 2023, stands at SR3.08 billion, reflecting a 16.26 percent increase compared to the corresponding period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, SRMG’s net profits reached SR559 million by the end of last year, showing a decrease of 13.74 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
The decline was primarily attributed to the drop in revenue of the printing and packaging division, along with the goodwill impairment associated with the same segment, in addition to the operating costs of certain projects.
In January, SRMG, the largest integrated media group from the Middle East and North Africa region, announced the appointment of several new editors-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief, and assistant editors-in-chief.
This announcement aligned well with SRMG’s digital transformation, growth, and expansion strategy, showcasing the group’s dedication to cultivating the next generation of journalists and media professionals to meet the demands of audiences worldwide.
Moreover, this decision reflected the significant shift in regional media consumption habits, particularly with the increasing popularity of digital, social, and audio-visual media platforms.
Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia hit $5.17bn in Q4 2023
RIYADH: Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous period, according to recent data.
The analysis, released by the General Authority of Statistics, utilizes an updated approach characterized by heightened transparency and governance standards. FDI inflows were shown to have reached SR19.38 billion ($5.17 billion), up from SR16.6 billion in the third quarter.
FDI outflows, representing the Kingdom’s investments in foreign countries, also increased by around 17 percent to SR6.19 billion during this period. Consequently, the net inflow, reflecting the difference between the two, reached SR13.187 billion.
The updated methodology for calculating FDIs aligns with international standards and was developed to enhance accuracy and comprehensiveness through collaborative efforts by the Ministry of Investment, the General Authority for Statistics, and the Saudi Central Bank, in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund.
The new methodology reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing investment promotion and transparency, aiming to create an attractive global financial environment.
This effort includes initiatives such as the National Investment Strategy, the Regional Headquarters Program, and zero-income tax incentives for foreign companies. These measures are seen as essential for advancing Vision 2030, which aims to expand and diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.
In 2023, the Kingdom saw a 12 percent increase in FDI inflows, reaching SR72.28 billion compared to SR64.6 billion in 2022. This excludes a major SR58.1 billion deal with Aramco in 2022, where a consortium led by BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana Investment Co. acquired a 49 percent stake in a new gas pipeline subsidiary.
Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters program has attracted multinational corporations like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to establish operations in the Kingdom. Additionally, companies such as Northern Trust, Bechtel, and Pepsico from the US, as well as IHG Hotels & Resorts, PwC, and Deloitte from the UK, have joined this initiative.
These moves enable these companies to participate in government contracts, energize Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector, and establish it as a global business hub.
Looking ahead, the Kingdom aims to achieve an FDI inflow target of SR388 billion by 2030, equivalent to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product, while positioning itself among the 15 largest economies in the world.