Shopee, Google, Apple: How Three Digital Monopolies Shape What Malaysians Pay

You open your phone to buy cat food. You scroll through Shopee, pay via ShopeePay, and wait for Shopee Express to deliver. That feels like one transaction, but behind it sit at least four intermediaries — e-commerce platform, payment gateway, courier, and possibly a buy-now-pay-later provider — each taking a cut. And you chose none of them. The platform chose for you.

This is the central problem that Datuk Iskandar Ismail, CEO of the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC), laid out in a recent podcast with Financial Faiz. MyCC has published its eighth market review — an 18-month study (begun July 2024) covering four digital subsectors plus data privacy and protection, released in February 2026 as an 82-page public summary and four sub-sector reports running to roughly 1,240 pages in all. The findings confirm what sellers and consumers already suspected: Malaysia's digital economy is dominated by a small cluster of platforms with outsized pricing power, opaque algorithms, and virtually no domestic regulatory counterweight.

The numbers are stark. Interviewed stakeholders believe Shopee, TikTok Shop and Lazada together account for around 85% of e-commerce GMV (2024). Internet advertising was 71% of Malaysia's total advertising spend in 2023 (RM5.1 billion), with Google and Meta named as the key players. Android and iOS account for 99% of mobile operating systems at end-2024, with Android at 68% and iOS at 31%. In online travel, Agoda and Booking.com are each estimated to hold 30-40% of the market. These aren't free markets with robust competition — they are oligopolies and duopolies operating across borders, with the regulatory frameworks to match still largely absent in Malaysia.

For investors, this matters beyond consumer rights. Market concentration shapes margin structures, capital allocation, and competitive moats for every listed company that touches digital commerce — from logistics operators to hotel REITs to Bursa-listed media companies spending on Google Ads.

Adam Tan — growth lens

The MyCC report is a signal that regulatory risk is arriving in Malaysia's digital economy, and most investors haven't priced it in.

E-commerce tiered commissions reach up to 23.5%. MyCC's summary describes tiered commissions reaching up to 23.5%; it gives no lower bound that we have seen. Shopee is the dominant player, with an estimated 55-65% of e-commerce GMV; TikTok Shop is put at 20-35% and Lazada at 10-20%. Datuk Iskandar confirmed that MyCC can intervene when a dominant player abuses its market position under Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010 (abuse of dominant position). MyCC has found abuse of dominance before: Dagang Net in 2015 and MyEG in 2016, according to its own report. If MyCC turns its attention to e-commerce commissions, the margin structures of every seller on these platforms shifts overnight.

The real story is vertical integration. Shopee doesn't just take commission. It runs ShopeePay (e-wallet), Shopee Express (courier), and integrated BNPL — all within a single transaction where the consumer has no visibility into which service provider is handling each step. Datuk Iskandar specifically flagged "delivery masking" — platforms choosing couriers on behalf of consumers without transparency — as a competition concern. When one company controls the marketplace, the payment rail, and the last-mile logistics, independent courier operators and payment providers get squeezed out.

Where this creates investment opportunity: Companies building alternatives to platform dependency. Malaysian brands with direct-to-consumer channels, independent logistics operators that can compete on service quality rather than platform allocation, and fintech firms offering payment options outside the platform ecosystem. The MyCC review doesn't prescribe breakups — it recommends a "soft enforcement" approach and a Central Digital Economy Task Force involving Bank Negara, MCMC, KPDNHEP, and others. But the direction is clear: regulatory scrutiny is increasing, and platforms will face pressure to open up.

My read: Watch for regulatory announcements from MyCC over the next 6-12 months. MyCC's launch statement says the review "highlights the need for enforcement action under the Competition Act 2010 against online travel agencies", working with MOTAC and MCMC, and the OTA report recommends investigation action on price parity clauses (while explicitly reserving the right to act if the clauses trigger its investigation powers). No formal investigation had been announced in the documents we read. If that sets a precedent, e-commerce commission structures could be next. Any Bursa-listed company with significant revenue exposure to platform-dependent sales (sellers on Shopee/Lazada) needs to be evaluated for regulatory tail risk.

Daniel Lim — steady lens

Before investors panic about regulatory crackdowns, let's understand what MyCC is actually doing and what it isn't.

What the report found — the facts:

1. E-commerce: Three platforms are believed to account for around 85% of Malaysian e-commerce GMV. Tiered commissions reach up to 23.5%. Sellers face effective lock-in because leaving the dominant platform means losing access to guaranteed buyer traffic. The platform also bundles courier, payment, and BNPL services, limiting seller and consumer choice within transactions.

2. Mobile OS: Android (68%) and iOS (31%) form a 99% duopoly. As of October 2025, app payment commissions in Malaysia range between 15% and 30%. This constrains Malaysian app startups — at the 30% rate, on RM10 million in sales, RM3 million goes to the platform before a single operating cost is paid.

3. Digital advertising: Internet advertising was 71% of Malaysia's total ad spend in 2023, and MyCC views Google and Meta as the key players, whose vertical integration spans ad exchanges, data management and ad delivery. (An earlier version of this piece said Google and Meta take 71% of digital ad spend; the 71% is the internet's share of all advertising.) Advertisers have minimal visibility into how algorithms determine ad placement and pricing. The opacity of these systems means Malaysian SMEs are price-takers with no negotiating power.

4. Online travel agencies (OTAs): Many OTAs require hotels to offer the same rates across all channels, including the hotel's own website; MyCC calls price parity clauses a core competition concern. It also notes that hotel visibility can be influenced by the commission rates hotels pay.

5. Data privacy: MyCC finds that existing laws, including the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 and the Consumer Protection Act 1999, "do not adequately address platform responsibilities, merchant verification or data governance." (An earlier version said Malaysia has "no data privacy law"; that is not what the report says.)

What MyCC is doing about it:

MyCC is not proposing a Digital Markets Act-style ex ante regulation. Datuk Iskandar explicitly acknowledged that Malaysia's digital economy isn't mature enough for that approach, and that even the EU is struggling to enforce its own DMA. Instead, MyCC is taking three steps:

• Soft enforcement: Engaging platforms directly, using evidence from enforcement actions in other jurisdictions (EU, Australia, Indonesia) as leverage. Datuk Iskandar said in the podcast that several major platforms have already re-engaged with MyCC after the report's publication (we could not verify this independently).
• Enforcement action against OTAs. MyCC's launch statement says the review highlights the need for enforcement action under the Competition Act 2010 against online travel agencies, and the OTA report recommends investigation action on price parity clauses; the podcast framed this as the first subsector to move from study to enforcement. MyCC's report cites Hong Kong, where the competition commission investigated Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com in 2020.
• Recommending a central digital economy taskforce with a lead agency (the Ministry of Digital) and members including MyCC, PDP, MCMC, KPDN, Bank Negara and MOTAC. The rationale: a single e-commerce transaction spans multiple regulatory domains (telecoms, financial services, consumer protection, competition, tourism), and no single agency has jurisdiction over the whole chain.

What this means for investors: The regulatory timeline is measured in years, not quarters. MyCC's own OTA investigation will take time, and any findings can be contested by the platforms. The 18-month market study is the foundation — enforcement follows later. Don't sell positions in platform-exposed stocks on this report alone. But do factor in the direction of travel: Malaysia is joining a global trend of digital competition regulation, and the room that platforms have enjoyed here is narrowing. Monitor MyCC announcements and the formation (or non-formation) of the proposed task force as leading indicators.

Sarah Abdullah — action lens

Want to understand how digital monopolies affect your money as a Malaysian consumer and investor? Here's how to apply the MyCC findings to your own decisions.

For consumers — reduce your platform dependency:

Step 1: Check whether your favourite brand sells direct. Before buying on Shopee or Lazada, search for the brand's own website. Many Malaysian brands maintain their own online stores with lower prices — they can afford to because they aren't paying up to 23.5% commission. Example: at the top 23.5% rate, an item that costs RM100 on Shopee leaves the seller approximately RM76.50 after commission. If they sell direct at RM90, they still earn more per unit, and you pay less.

Step 2: Book hotels direct where possible. The MyCC report confirms OTAs use price parity clauses to prevent hotels from undercutting OTA prices. But some hotels — especially chains with loyalty programmes — offer member-only rates on their own websites that technically comply with parity clauses while still being cheaper. For budget hotels, call or WhatsApp the hotel directly. Small operators often quote lower rates for direct bookings because they avoid OTA commissions (MyCC reports 10% to 18% for large hotel chains).

Step 3: Audit your app store spending. If you subscribe to services through the App Store or Google Play (Spotify, YouTube Premium, cloud storage), check whether signing up via the web is cheaper. App store commission (15-30%) may be passed on to consumers. Some services let you subscribe through their own website instead; check whether yours does.

For investors — assess platform risk in your portfolio:

Step 1: Identify Bursa-listed companies with platform dependency. Any company that derives significant revenue from selling on Shopee/Lazada, advertising on Google/Meta, or distributing through OTAs is exposed to platform pricing power. This includes consumer brands, hotel operators and REITs, logistics companies, and digital media firms. Check their annual reports for mentions of platform commission costs or advertising spend concentration.

Step 2: Track the MyCC enforcement timeline. Bookmark mycc.gov.my. The 82-page public summary and the four sub-sector reports (mobile operating and payment systems, e-commerce, digital advertising, OTAs) are published at mycc.gov.my/market-review. If MyCC announces a formal investigation (OTA price parity is the one it flags), assess which listed companies are directly affected.

Step 3: Watch for ASEAN-level coordination. In the podcast, Datuk Iskandar specifically called for ASEAN nations to coordinate competition enforcement as a bloc — similar to the EU's approach — arguing that Malaysia's population of about 34 million (DOSM, 2025: 34.2 million) alone lacks the market leverage to force changes from Apple, Google, or Meta. If ASEAN competition authorities move toward joint enforcement, the regulatory calculus for digital platforms changes significantly. This is a long-term thesis, but it's worth tracking through ASEAN competition policy forums.

Common mistake: Assuming that because platforms are convenient, they're also competitive markets. The MyCC report demonstrates that convenience and competition are not the same thing. A market where three players are believed to hold around 85% of GMV and set commission rates unilaterally is convenient for consumers but not necessarily competitive — and the costs are embedded in higher product prices, reduced seller margins, and limited consumer choice.

Source Video#

This analysis drew on the following video as a primary source.

Affiliate disclosure: money.com.my may earn a commission if you apply for a product through our links. This does not affect editorial recommendations — products are assessed on published rates and terms.

Amendment, 17 October 2026. Every figure was checked against MyCC's own Market Review on the Digital Economy Ecosystem under the Competition Act 2010 (Public Summary 2026 and the four non-confidential sub-sector reports, published 10 February 2026) and DOSM population data. Corrections: 71% is the internet's share of Malaysia's total advertising spend in 2023 (RM5.1 billion), not the share taken by Google and Meta, which the summary does not quantify; the 85% e-commerce figure is a stakeholder estimate of GMV in 2024, not a measured share of transactions; Android holds 68% and iOS 31% (not 70/30); Shopee is estimated at 55-65% of GMV, TikTok Shop 20-35% and Lazada 10-20%; 23.5% is the top of a 0% to 23.5% commission range; MyCC found abuse of dominance by Dagang Net (2015) and MyEG (2016), and MyCC's launch statement calls for enforcement action against online travel agencies and its OTA report recommends investigation of price parity clauses, but we saw no announcement of a formal investigation; Agoda and Booking.com (not Trip.com) are the two OTAs estimated at 30-40% each; the summary runs to 82 pages, not 96, and the four reports are already published; the "no data privacy law" statement and the OTA crawler claim are not in the report and were removed or rewritten; also removed or replaced: the Spotify web-subscription example, the "typically 15-25%" OTA commission (the report gives 10% to 18% for large hotel chains), and the claim that "Hong Kong and Europe have already forced OTAs to remove price parity provisions" (the report only describes Hong Kong's 2020 investigation); Malaysia's population is 34.2 million (DOSM, 2025). Statements made only by Datuk Iskandar Ismail in the podcast (soft enforcement, platforms re-engaging, ASEAN coordination) remain attributed to him. Evidence is in docs/verification-log/evidence-batch-f1-oct17/.

Follow-up amendment, 25 October 2026 (commission range). The e-commerce paragraph said 23.5% was "the top of the range MyCC reports for platform commissions (0% to 23.5%)". MyCC's public summary (saved extract) supports only "tiered commissions reaching up to 23.5%", so the body now says that and that no lower bound is given. Removed: the "0%" lower bound and the word "range" (in no saved file). The 17 October amendment above is left as history. Evidence: docs/verification-log/followups-batch2-oct25/evidence.md.