Hello Cabs, local ride-hailing service, had sued Grab, Singapore based ridehailing service, under the Competition law. According to Aung Win, managing director of Dagon Logistics who owns Hello Cabs, he had to sue because Grab had used confidential business-related information it provided without its consent. Case was filed at the Padauk Chaung police station in July 2017 and it is still pending. Hello Cabs, Myanmar’s first ride-hailing app, was launched with about 130 cars in August 2015.
Dagon Logistics is a joint venture between Yangon-based Strategic Development International Holdings, Singapore’s GAP VC and local company Yaung Ni Oo. Aung Win also leads Yaung Ni Oo, which had long been operating the traditional taxi business in Yangon. The two firms had reportedly entered into a relationship in September 2016 on an offer from Hello Cabs to Grab for business cooperation. Win said, upon the offer, the two managed to sign a non-disclosure agreement the following month, followed by Hello Cabs providing their information relating to strategic plans and market expansion. However, since signing the contract, Grab had stopped communication and it was only in April 2017 that they decided to enter the Myanmar market by themselves, Dragon Logistics alleged. “The main point is when entering Myanmar, the market experience is the major driver. If the documents are received but (they) decided not to work (together), they should be returned or informed. We did not get any response on a follow-up,” said Aung Win, claiming that Grab had referenced all the market information of Hello Cabs’ before entering the market.
The Competition Law, enacted in February 2015, talks about breach of practices related to business information. This includes the act of deceiving a person with an obligation to maintain secrets or abusing the confidence of such person in accessing, collecting or revealing of business secrets and information related to such secrets. If breached, a two-year sentence or K10 million or both can be enforced. On March 21, Singapore-based ridehailing service Grab launched a trial in Yangon making it the first international taxi service company to operate there. The company currently operates in six other countries in Southeast Asia. Grab cannot be reached for comments at the closing time of Myanmar Insider publication.
