Commission sets its sights on the price fixers
Price cartels are a major concern for the Competition Commission. But its first job is to educate the public and companies on a new law
Price cartels will be among the main targets of the commission responsible for enforcing Hong Kong's new competition law when the legislation takes full effect in the first half of next year.
But Competition Commission chairwoman Anna Wu Hung-yuk is not yet ready to point the finger at industries where price fixing occurs as she wants to avoid bias in future cases. Before that, the commission has work to do, including informing the public, companies and trade groups about the law in a process to start on Monday, and consulting on draft guidelines to be issued in September.
"During the consultation, I will avoid giving answers to any example as those cases will come back to us after our commission is in full operation next year," Wu said yesterday. "We want to avoid any prejudice or bias in our handling of these cases in future."
The guidelines on interpretation, investigation procedures and the handling of complaints - adoption of which are a precondition for full operation of the Competition Ordinance passed in 2012 - are due to be submitted to the Legislative Council by the end of the year.
Both the ordinance and the commission will be in full operation in the first half of next year.
"Some people in business are worried about possible increases in the cost of doing business after the ordinance is implemented," Wu said. "My answer to them is that the law will create a more competitive business environment and eventually reduce their operating costs."