The mega merger between the top two ride-hailing service providers in China came into focus on Wednesday after the country's antitrust watchdog said it had a right to investigate the deal.

The Ministry of Commerce said at a news conference in Beijing that it was entitled to investigate whether the merger deal between Didi Chuxing and the China unit of the US-headquartered Uber Technologies Inc suggested a potential monopoly.

"Based on the regulations in China, business operators need to file an application on their merger deal if their revenues reach a certain amount," said Shen Danyang, spokesman for the ministry.