Competition Issues December 2009

Balancing Act
Business Day, December 30, 2009

The South African Competition Commission’s handling of the fuel industry’s application for exemption from certain provisions of the Competition Act will make for an interesting case study. <<More>>

Short Term Price Control Benefits
Allafrica.com, December 30, 2009

The Bill introducing Price Controls on some essential goods --moved by the Mathira MP Ephraim Maina -- without taking cognisance of the entire price chain that affects the final goods of products is totally misguided and harmful to producers of final products in Kenya.  <<More>>

Competition Let off
Allafrica.com, December 29, 2009

South Africa's fuel companies have applied for an exemption from competition legislation that prohibits industry players from entering into agreements that contravene competition law.  <<More>>

Law must for Economic Turnaround
The Nation, December 24, 2009

The Chairman Competition Commission of Pakistan Khalid Mirza has said that competition law and its effective implementation is a prerequisite for the economic turn-around.   <<More>>

Competition Law Needed for Economic Uplift
Daily Times, December 24, 2009

The Chairman Competition Commission of Pakistan, Khalid Mirza has said that competition law and its effective implementation are a prerequisite for the economic turnaround. Competition is at the core of the market system and without contestability, rivalry, and economic agents competing on a level playing field, productivity is bound to suffer and so is the consumer.  <<More>>

Competition Collaboration Guidelines
Competition Bureau Canada, December 23, 2009

Amendments to the provisions of the Canadian Competition Act, which will come into force in March 2010, create a more effective criminal enforcement regime for the most egregious forms of cartel agreements, such as price-fixing. <<More>>

DoJ Airs Concerns on BA-American Airlines Alliance
Miami Herald, December 22, 2009

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has warned the Department of Transportation (DoT) that there is a risk of “competitive harm” if British Airways and American Airlines are granted antitrust immunity for their proposed alliance. The DoJ said the DoT should only grant antitrust immunity for the airline alliance subject to concessions.  <<More>>

CCM Launches Investigation
Competition Commission of Mauritius, December 21, 2009

The Competition Commission of Mauritius (CCM) has launched a further two separate investigations, into potential Competition Act breaches: in the beef market, and by travel agents. (1) The allegations made to the CCM concerning the first investigation are of potentially restrictive practices in the market for beef. (2) The second investigation has been instigated by allegations that travel agencies, following advice by MAITA, are setting similar service fees. <<More>>

Competition Rules for Motor Vehicle Sector
European Commission Press Release, December 21, 2009

The European Commission is inviting comments on its proposal for a revised Block Exemption Regulation and Guidelines on motor vehicle sales and repair agreements. Block exemptions relieve companies of the need to analyse individually whether certain categories of agreements comply with EU rules on restrictive business practices.  <<More>>

EAC Competition Law Imposes Fine
East African Business Week, December 21, 2009

A competition law that will protect small firms from the business giants in the East African Community (EAC) region will soon be implemented. The law is being amended to impose a fine of US$100,000 to companies that suffocates small and medium enterprises and interfere with free movement of goods and services in the region. The law has been drafted by the EAC secretariat in Arusha. <<More>>

Germany to Tighten Antitrust Rules
Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2009

Germany's Federal Cartel Office will in the future be able to break up any company with a dominant position in key markets and blocks fair competition, Germany's Economics Ministry said in a document on tougher competition rules. <<More>>

Guidelines on Maritime Transport Services
EFTA Surveillance Authority Press Release, December 16, 2009

The EFTA Surveillance Authority has adopted guidelines on the application to maritime transport services of EEA rules on restrictive business practices, which would help maritime operators understand the implications of this change, and provide details on market definition, information exchange in liner shipping, and operational co-operation agreements between tramp operators known as “pool agreements”. <<More>>

New Merger Assessment Guidelines
Autorité de la Concurrence Press Release, December 16, 2009

The French Competition Authority has published its new merger assessment guidelines online, which reflect the changes brought about by the Law on the Modernisation of the Economy, and further seek to incorporate European and international best practice in merger control.  <<More>>

Transfer of MRTPC Cases to CAT
Live Mint, December 16, 2009

A bill passed by the Lower House of the Indian Parliament means that 1,186 cases pending before the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) under the Consumer Protection Act will now be transferred to the newly set up Competition Appellate Tribunal. The MRTPC is now set to shut down after the establishment of the Competition Commission of India, which wields similar powers. <<More>>

Africa Adopting Competition Law
The Observer, December 15, 2009

African countries are changing their negative attitude towards competition law and adopting it in order to enhance economic growth and the welfare of their citizens. Competition law specialist, Nkonzo Hlatshwayo says there has been a significant change amongst most countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa with regards to competition law. <<More>>

Competition Laws Promote Growth
New Vision, December 15, 2009

East African states need competition laws to promote national development. The law, once in force the law would level the playing field for competition among the EAC states. Competition laws would ensure effective production and distribution processes across all the East African states.  <<More>>

Antitrust Immunity to Complete ‘Open Skies’ Deal
Bloomberg.com, December 15, 2009

Japan would not sign an “Open Skies” accord in 2010 unless the US grants antitrust immunity for All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Corp., and their US partners on trans-Pacific alliances. <<More>>

Peer Review of Armenia’s Competition Law
UNCTAD, December 14, 2009

Armenia with the support of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has volunteered to assess the effectiveness of its competition law and policy. The aim is to strengthen the country's competition law and to create a competitive, efficient and pro-business market environment. <<More>>

Botswana Competition Law in the Offing
MmegiOnline, December 11, 2009

Botswana will soon have a competition law that will span different sectors of the economy. The Competition Bill was presented in the Parliament for second reading. The main objective of the law is to regulate competition between firms as well as to establish a Competition Authority.  <<More>>

Namibia Launches Competition Commission
New Era, December 11, 2009

The Namibian Competition Commission was launched on December 09, 2009, six years after the Competition Act was passed in 2003. Namibia’s competition law covers three major competition concerns of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and anti-competitive mergers.  <<More>>

Turkish Launches Probe into Turkcell
Dow Jones News, December 11, 2009

Turkey's Competition Board plans an investigation into the country's largest mobile phone company by subscribers, Turkcell that is suspected of violating some articles of competition law by making it difficult for rivals to operate.  <<More>>

Hong Kong to Introduce Competition Bill
China Daily, December 09, 2009

The Government of Hong Kong is working at full steam towards introducing the Competition Bill within the 2009-2010 legislative year, taking into account stakeholders' comments. The legislation would be designed to prevent and punish anti-competitive, undesirable monopolistic business practices. <<More>>

Europe Drops Case against Rambus
EETimes.com, December 09, 2009

The EC originally brought charges against Rambus in 2007, alleging violation of European Union (EU) competition law. The investigation followed complaints set forth by certain DRAM manufacturers originating with Rambus' 1992-1995 participation in an industry standard-setting organisation, the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC).  <<More>>

Reversal of Case Law
International Law Office, December 03, 2009

A case involving 13 perfume manufacturers and three of their distributors has given rise to an important reversal of jurisprudence in France. The Court of Cassation referred the case back to the Paris Court of Appeal after reducing the fines by over 50 percent due to insufficient proof of application of prices by distributors, and the appeal court annulled the Competition Council's decision entirely for excessive duration of the investigation procedure. <<More>>

Bill to be Introduced Soon
China Daily, December 09, 2009

The Hong Kong government has long discussed the need for and appropriate forms of legislation designed to prevent and punish anti-competitive, undesirable monopolistic business practices. Now, creation of a legal framework for accomplishing this is on the horizon. <<More>>

Ice Hockey Policy Raises Concerns
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, December 04, 2009

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a draft notice proposing to revoke Ice Hockey Australia’s (ICH) notification, under which its members will be prevented from playing in ice hockey competitions that are unapproved by ICH. <<More>>

New Competition Law on Prices
Reuters Africa, December 04, 2009

Angola plans to ramp up its campaign to rein in inflation by introducing a new competition law in 2010 to stop companies from manipulating prices, Economy Minister Manuel Nunes Junior said. <<More>>

Draft Divestment Guidelines Released
Commerce Commission, December 03, 2009

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has released draft guidelines on how divestment undertakings as part of a merger or acquisition application will be treated.  <<More>>

KFTC Levies Record Fine
Scottrade, December 03, 2009

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said that it has decided to fine six major liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) suppliers a combined US$580mn for fixing prices for their products in the local market. <<More>>

Top Network Monopoly Fined
Thestaronline, December 02, 2009

Mexican anti-monopoly regulators said they slapped the country's largest media company, Grupo Televisa, with the biggest fine they have ever levied against a media company for denying a cable operator access to its television programming.  <<More>>

Transparent Price-formation Mechanism
Nma Press Releases, December 02, 2009

A study carried out by the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has offered insight into the costs and margins in the food production chain in the Netherlands, from producer to supermarket, for potatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, apples, bread and eggs. <<More>>

Antitrust Repeal Amendment
Senator Patrick Leahy Press Releases, December 01, 2009

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced that he will file an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will repeal the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries’ exemption from federal antitrust laws. <<More>>

FTC's Norm Armstrong Leaves 'Acting'
TheDeal.com, December 01, 2009

Hats off to Norm Armstrong Jr., who moved up a notch in the Washington antitrust hierarchy and has now become the deputy director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. <<More>>

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