Anti-Competitive Mergers in Two-Sided Digital Platform Markets: The Case of Uber-Grab

29 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2020 Last revised: 23 Mar 2021

See all articles by Kenneth Khoo

Kenneth Khoo

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law; Harvard Law School

Date Written: October 16, 2020

Abstract

Digital Platforms pose a number of challenges to regulators around the world. In particular, markets where Digital Platforms operate tend towards monopolies due to strong network effects, large economies of scale and scope, close to zero marginal costs and increasing returns to the use of data. On the other hand, ostensibly anti-competitive conduct by traditional businesses may in fact be innocuous or even welfare-enhancing when initiated by digital platforms due to their “two-sided” nature. In this Article, I critically evaluate the recent infringement decision of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore regarding Uber's sale of its SEA business to Grab pursuant to the contemporary Law and Economics literature on two-sided digital platforms. Unfortunately, “one-sided” competition analysis continues to be erroneously applied to digital platforms with a “two-sided” nature. I provide some proposals on how merger control should be reformed in light of these deficiencies.

Keywords: Antitrust; Competition Law; Mergers; Two-Sided Platforms

JEL Classification: K21, L44

Suggested Citation

Khoo, Kenneth, Anti-Competitive Mergers in Two-Sided Digital Platform Markets: The Case of Uber-Grab (October 16, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3712823 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3712823

Kenneth Khoo (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law ( email )

469G Bukit Timah Road
Eu Tong Sen Building
Singapore, 259776
Singapore

Harvard Law School ( email )

1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
452
Abstract Views
1,130
Rank
117,300
PlumX Metrics