Authorities are looking forward to ending Grab’s monopoly
Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing service provider is in deep negotiation with the Philippines authorities to get access to their market. At present, the ride-hailing market is completely ruled by Grab, the Singapore based company. Didi’s introduction to the Philippines market will considerably bring down the cost of day-to-day commute and provide consumers with an alternative.
Luis Chavit Singson, a local politician said, “We want to break the monopoly of Grab. We think this will help Filipinos.” A report in the media emphasized that Grab has control over 90% of the ride-hailing market in the country.
Many companies are in line for a license to do business
Singson also elaborated on how Grab has increased its ride-sharing fares after taking over the operations of Uber in Southeast Asia. This has piled up many complaints against Grab, as the consumers are not happy with surged prices. U-Hop which is partially owned by former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is also trying to negotiate a deal with the Philippines’ Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Didi and LTFRB did not disclose the terms of negotiation, as they are still talking on the details of the business. Didi is not the only company that is trying to enter the Filipino market; Gojek also filed an application to operate in the country but denied due to its foreign ownership issue. The company again applied in March and again Philippine authorities rejected their application. According to the rules, ride-hailing companies in the country should have 60% ownership of the local companies.
