MANILA - The Court of Appeals has denied a government anti-trust watchdog's petition to proceed with its investigation on PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom's acquisition of a competitor's assets.

The court kept its injunction on the Philippine Competition Commission's review and directed the body to remove from its website a note which said that the P70-billion deal was likely to restrict competition in the telecommunications field.

Globe and PLDT were also ordered to refrain from commenting on the deal.

The country's two largest telcos bought San Miguel Corp's telecommunications assets in May last year, effectively stopping the entry of a third industry player.

"That's a brilliant move by the Court of Appeals," First Metro Asset Management president Gus Cosio told ANC's "Market Edge with Cathy Yang."

Cosio said "there's nothing anti-competition" about PLDT and Globe sharing San Miguel's assets, since this will likely improve service.

"The PCC should focus on making us more competitive rather than hounding companies that are trying to provide good service to the population," Cosio said.