The 10th meeting of the Competition Consultative Group (CCG), a platform provided by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for seeking advice and suggestions for better promotion of competition regime in Pakistan was held here on Wednesday. This was the first meeting of CCG after the Chairperson (CCP), Rahat Kaunain Hassan, took the charge of her office in July last year. The meeting was well attended by the heads of regulatory bodies, high profile officials of the Government of Pakistan and representatives of the business community. They include the Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Muhammad Ali, the Chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Tauqir Sadiq, Country Representative Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Germany, Olaf Kellerhoff, Members CCP Abdul Ghaffar, Dr. Joseph Wilson, Vadiyya Khalil and Mueen Batlay, Director General Legal, CCP, Ikram Ul Haq Qureshi, President Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan Saqib Masood, senior officials of the Ministry of Industries, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, representatives of Unilever Pakistan, JS Private Equity and the Pakistan Business Council. The CCP Chairperson gave an overview of the enforcement actions and initiatives of the Commission after her taking the charge in July last year. Despite several challenges during the last six months, CCP has maintained the pace of enforcement and taken a number of key actions to promote competition through enforcement and advocacy. She informed the CCG that CCP issued very important orders, conducted enquiries and issued various show cause notices to non-compliant business entities. Some of the important enforcement actions of the Commission include orders issued against the Pakistan Poultry Association and Pakistan Jute Mills Association for engaging in collusive activities, and in a high profile merger application case of Fauji Fertilizer Company. Various enquires have been completed some of which include Pakistan Ships and Agents Association, DHA-Wateen Telecom, Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Poultry Association and the Pakistan Jute Mills Association. Similarly, the major show cause notices include 18 poultry firms, Defense Housing Authority, Peshawar Electric Supply Company, and Ritz Incorporation. The CCP Chairperson said that the Commission issued 36 merger approvals and granted 30 exemptions during the last six months. As part of its sectoral research program, the Commission completed five Competition Impact Assessment Studies which include study on Automobile Sector, Cooking Oil and Ghee Sector, Private Sector Healthcare Sector, Private Sector Schooling Sector and Polyester Staple Fiber Sector. Rahat said that with the enactment of the Competition Law and appointment of the Commission Members the CCP’s legal status had become certain. She said that the Ministry of Finance had made some progress on the issue of three percent of fees and charges of regulatory bodies to CCP and hoped that it will be resolved soon. She said the Commission’s compliance-oriented approach and lenient treatment towards undertakings willing to correct their business behavior had started producing positive results. she said several business undertakings that approached the CCP with the aim to correct their business behavior received lenient treatment from the Commission. She referred to the recent CCP order in a cartelization case in which the Pakistan Jute Mills Association and 10 Jute Mills admitted their inadvertent violation and requested CCP for a lenient treatment. Rahat said that the punitive actions of CCP were not aimed to harass businesses, but to discipline them and deter them from engaging in anti competitive practices. She said the Commission was striving to create a level playing field for all businesses by promoting competition. The participants of CCG meeting appreciated the actions taken by CCP and gave some important suggestions vis-à-vis its enforcement and advocacy strategies. An important suggestion was to form a Regulators’ Forum to provide a platform for sharing of information and discussion on issues of mutual concern amongst the apex regulatory agencies of the country. The proposal was appreciated by all and it was decided that to take all the other regulatory bodies on board. It was a very interactive session and the participation of the heads of regulatory agencies was viewed as a gesture of extending support to the Competition Agency.
The 10th meeting of the Competition Consultative Group (CCG), a platform provided by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for seeking advice and suggestions for better promotion of competition regime in Pakistan was held here on Wednesday.
This was the first meeting of CCG after the Chairperson (CCP), Rahat Kaunain Hassan, took the charge of her office in July last year. The meeting was well attended by the heads of regulatory bodies, high profile officials of the Government of Pakistan and representatives of the business community. They include the Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Muhammad Ali, the Chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Tauqir Sadiq, Country Representative Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Germany, Olaf Kellerhoff, Members CCP Abdul Ghaffar, Dr. Joseph Wilson, Vadiyya Khalil and Mueen Batlay, Director General Legal, CCP, Ikram Ul Haq Qureshi, President Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan Saqib Masood, senior officials of the Ministry of Industries, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, representatives of Unilever Pakistan, JS Private Equity and the Pakistan Business Council. The CCP Chairperson gave an overview of the enforcement actions and initiatives of the Commission after her taking the charge in July last year. Despite several challenges during the last six months, CCP has maintained the pace of enforcement and taken a number of key actions to promote competition through enforcement and advocacy.
She informed the CCG that CCP issued very important orders, conducted enquiries and issued various show cause notices to non-compliant business entities. Some of the important enforcement actions of the Commission include orders issued against the Pakistan Poultry Association and Pakistan Jute Mills Association for engaging in collusive activities, and in a high profile merger application case of Fauji Fertilizer Company. Various enquires have been completed some of which include Pakistan Ships and Agents Association, DHA-Wateen Telecom, Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Poultry Association and the Pakistan Jute Mills Association. Similarly, the major show cause notices include 18 poultry firms, Defense Housing Authority, Peshawar Electric Supply Company, and Ritz Incorporation.
The CCP Chairperson said that the Commission issued 36 merger approvals and granted 30 exemptions during the last six months. As part of its sectoral research program, the Commission completed five Competition Impact Assessment Studies which include study on Automobile Sector, Cooking Oil and Ghee Sector, Private Sector Healthcare Sector, Private Sector Schooling Sector and Polyester Staple Fiber Sector. Rahat said that with the enactment of the Competition Law and appointment of the Commission Members the CCP’s legal status had become certain. She said that the Ministry of Finance had made some progress on the issue of three percent of fees and charges of regulatory bodies to CCP and hoped that it will be resolved soon.
She said the Commission’s compliance-oriented approach and lenient treatment towards undertakings willing to correct their business behavior had started producing positive results. she said several business undertakings that approached the CCP with the aim to correct their business behavior received lenient treatment from the Commission.
She referred to the recent CCP order in a cartelization case in which the Pakistan Jute Mills Association and 10 Jute Mills admitted their inadvertent violation and requested CCP for a lenient treatment. Rahat said that the punitive actions of CCP were not aimed to harass businesses, but to discipline them and deter them from engaging in anti competitive practices. She said the Commission was striving to create a level playing field for all businesses by promoting competition.
The participants of CCG meeting appreciated the actions taken by CCP and gave some important suggestions vis-à-vis its enforcement and advocacy strategies. An important suggestion was to form a Regulators’ Forum to provide a platform for sharing of information and discussion on issues of mutual concern amongst the apex regulatory agencies of the country. The proposal was appreciated by all and it was decided that to take all the other regulatory bodies on board.
It was a very interactive session and the participation of the heads of regulatory agencies was viewed as a gesture of extending support to the Competition Agency.
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