Hong Kong’s anti-trust regulator blames ‘unusual’ practices for city’s high petrol prices
Competition Commission urges government to intervene after its study finds consumers lack petrol options, and industry needs more players
Hong Kong’s anti-trust regulator has called on the government to intervene in the petrol market after it discovered “highly unusual” practices which hindered market competition and contributed to the notoriously high fuel prices in the city.
The Competition Commission found consumers lacked choices as oil companies currently offer only the most expensive type of petrol for motorists, namely the 98 RON, even though a cheaper type called the 95 RON can also be used by 99 per cent of the city’s vehicles.
With the leases of 28 petrol station sites expiring next year, it suggested on Thursday that the government review the tendering system and make it mandatory to offer the 95 RON. Doing so would help rein in prices and facilitate the entry of new players, it said.
The commission also recommended that the government build its own oil storage facilities and open it up for rental to new players. The petrol market in Hong Kong is mainly dominated by five players – Esso, Shell, Caltex, Sinopec and PetroChina.
But the regulator ruled out any collusion, sayingthere was no sufficient evidence to show oil companies in the city had entered into a cartel agreement.