News: TPM Australian regulator drops decision date for TPG-Vodafone merger, in latest delay

March 1 (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator has dropped a provisional date for when it will decide whether to approve TPG Telecom Ltd's (TPM) proposed merger with the Australian arm of Britain's Vodafone Group PLC VOD.L , an update on its website showed.

In its latest delay, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was still receiving required information from TPG and Vodafone before it can set a new provisional date for its decision on the mega-telco tie-up.

ACCC had initially set a provisional date of March 28, but in January pushed that back by two weeks to April 11.

In December, ACCC said it was concerned whether the merger would reduce the incentive for the resulting entity to offer lower prices, as the deal involves two of the industry's biggest four players.

The regulator's decision may be further complicated by TPG's move in January to abandon plans to build a mobile telephone network due to a ban on the use of equipment from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd , its chosen supplier.

A Vodafone spokesperson said the company has provided a "significant amount of material" already, and remains committed to the merger. TPG did not respond to an emailed request for a comment.

Vodafone runs a mobile telecommunications business in Australia in a joint venture with Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Ltd (HTA) .

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Australia regulator delays decision on TPG-Vodafone merger	

Australian regulator casts doubt on telco mega-merger, shares slammed Australia's TPG Telecom dumps Huawei-supplied mobile network citing govt ban

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