Ride-hailing firm Grab's acquisition of American rival Uber's South-east Asian business is an infringement of competition laws, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said after more than three months of deliberation.

It said it had "provisionally" found that the deal led to a sub-stantial lessening of competition here, and has also issued a proposed infringement decision against the transaction.

The CCCS said Grab and Uber had proceeded with the transaction despite knowing that it might breach competition laws.

It has proposed to impose financial penalties on the two players.

Grab said it disagrees with the CCCS' assessment. A spokesman said the CCCS' proposed measures "go against Singapore's pro-innovation and pro-business regulations in a free market economy".

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