Potential M&A in Malaysia could soon face anti-monopoly scrutiny

The agency known as MyCC plans to have the country’s competition law amended as soon as this year. That would enable it to approve or reject mergers and acquisitions, or to impose conditions on potential deals, chief executive Officer Iskandar Ismail(pic) said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Potential acquisitions in Malaysia are set to face scrutiny from the Malaysia Competition Commission as the watchdog seeks the power to vet deals.

The agency known as MyCC plans to have the country’s competition law amended as soon as this year.

That would enable it to approve or reject mergers and acquisitions, or to impose conditions on potential deals, chief executive Officer Iskandar Ismail said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Malaysia is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia where its antitrust agency lacks the power to vet mergers and acquisitions.

MyCC can only investigate the deals after they are completed. In October, it proposed a fine of RM86.8mil on Grab Holdings Inc for breaching the country’s competition law after the ride-hailing company bought Uber Technologies Inc’s South-East Asian operations.

Potential deals by Tesco Plc to Axiata Group Bhd could fall under scrutiny.

Axiata is scouting mergers for some of its businesses as a key growth strategy, after a failed deal to combine its units with Telenor ASA’s Asian operations. Britain’s biggest supermarket chain Tesco is considering a sale of its Malaysia business as part of its strategic review in the region. — Bloomberg