Uber said the new regulations would affect its services and therefore it is suspending operations until it can analyze the situation and come up with a suitable solution.
Meanwhile, Uber’s sale of its Southeast Asian operations to Grab is undergoing regulatory review, and there are a few hurdles to be crossed. Some experts believe if Grab were to adopt restrictions on pricing and tighter regulations the deal would receive approval. There is also a chance that Uber could exit the region thus giving Grab the lion’s share of the market. Uber has already started moving out its operations in the area.
Some believe the deal might not face too much difficulty regarding approval as there are plenty of new entrants in the market which provide customers with plenty of options. If the deal fails to go through, Uber might exit Singapore and Grab would be the leader in that market.
A Grab-Uber entity would be a strong one from a competitive point of view with an edge over new market entrants.