Grab to appeal, says Vietnamese court’s decision sets ‘bad precedent’

By Dat Nguyen   December 28, 2018 | 10:30 pm PT
Grab to appeal, says Vietnamese court’s decision sets ‘bad precedent’
Grab says it will appeal to a Vietnamese court's order to pay a compensation to Vinasun. Photo by Reuters
Ride-hailing firm asserts it has not violated Vietnamese laws and will appeal a court’s order to compensate taxi firm Vinasun.

Country head of Grab Vietnam Jerry Lim made this statement after the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City Friday ordered Grab to pay VND4.8 billion ($208,000) in compensation to Vinasun, finding that there was a link between the operations of Grab and Vinasun losing revenue.

Lim said that Grab has neither violated Vietnamese regulations nor evaded taxes as alleged by Vinasun.

He added that there were flaws in a third party’s calculations that led to the court’s conclusion that Grab was a direct cause of Vinasun’s losses.

Lim said that the court’s decision will set a bad precedent for other traditional companies and inadvertently encourage them to take the easy way out by suing competitors instead of innovating through technology.

"We are prepared to launch a defamation lawsuit against Vinasun, and all other parties that have colluded with Vinasun, if there is no retraction of the baseless allegations made against Grab," he said.

The court’s decision came after an 18-month battle between Singapore-headquartered Grab and top taxi firm Vinasun began in June last year when the taxi firm filed a suit, saying Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion ($1.8 million) in losses that it had suffered.

The latest draft of a Ministry of Transport decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technology.

This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

 
 
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