Malaysia's competition watchdog on Thursday threatened to hit Grab with a $21 million fine for practices that allegedly reduce competition, the latest problem for the ride-hailing giant. Grab is the biggest ride-hailing firm in Southeast Asia, and has strengthened its hold on the market since buying US rival Uber's operations in the region last year.

But the Singapore-headquartered firm has come under scrutiny from regulators in several countries due to concerns about its dominant position.

The Malaysia Competition Commission proposed fining Grab almost 87 million ringgit ($21 million) for preventing its drivers from providing advertising services for the company's competitors.

This had the effect of "distorting competition" by creating barriers to Grab's rivals, it said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019