Hong Kong’s competition watchdog aims to submit proposals to criminalise bid-rigging as early as September, paving the way for the government to table legislative amendments by the end of the year, following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Senior Counsel Jat Sew-tong, who assumed the role of chairman of the Competition Commission last month, said…
Hong Kong police have proposed introducing legislation enforced by a designated agency to criminalise bid-rigging, along with more attractive leniency and cooperation agreements for whistle-blowers, in the wake of the city’s deadliest fire in decades. In a submission to a judge-led independent committee investigating last November’s disaster at Wang Fuk Court released on Friday, Superintendent…
Hongkongers packed the aisles of supermarkets with carts full of daily necessities as the city’s major grocery chains engaged in what some were calling a “price war” ahead of Mother’s Day. Hong Kong’s two major supermarket chains, CK Hutchison Holdings-backed ParknShop and Jardine Matheson’s Wellcome, each offered 12 per cent off everything in their stores…
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has arrested seven people linked to a syndicate that allegedly targeted large maintenance projects through undisclosed conflicts of interest and a contractor who served in a dual role as consultant. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Tuesday said it had arrested five men and two women, aged 37 to 75,…
An official tendering system designed to curb anti-competitive conduct is powerless to combat engineering firms colluding to manipulate Hong Kong’s lucrative building maintenance market, a public inquiry into the city’s deadliest fire in decades has heard. Testifying on the 21st day of an independent committee’s hearing, three Urban Renewal Authority (URA) officials said on Thursday…
Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has launched a public consultation on food delivery platform Keeta’s proposed measures to ensure a fair market environment, after previously raising concerns about its exclusivity clauses. The Competition Commission said on Tuesday it had begun consulting on three commitments offered by Keeta under Section 60 of the Competition Ordinance, which would…
Hong Kong’s competition watchdog is closely monitoring a potential megadeal between the city’s two largest supermarket chains amid a continued decline in grocery sales since 2020. The Competition Commission told the South China Morning Post that it was aware of media reports about the potential merger. “The commission is aware of the relevant media reports…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades is expected to conclude its first round of evidential hearings on Thursday, with the role of the property management firm at…
At least two bid-rigging syndicates could be linked to the HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation bid for a housing estate destroyed in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, a lawyer for the competition watchdog has said at the fourth session of an evidential hearing. Lester Lee Hiu-leung, the Competition Commission’s executive director for legal services,…
Hong Kong authorities are facing mounting pressure from lawmakers to roll out more measures to rein in surging fuel prices, including a requirement for firms to disclose pricing formulas when bidding for petrol stations – an idea the environment minister said could be considered. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told the Legislative Council…