Hong Kong competition law could force prices down, says commission head
Watchdog's head says the fight against price fixing means consumers will be the winners
Hong Kong's new competition law will bring tangible benefits to consumers by tackling price fixing and lowering prices in distorted markets, the head of a new watchdog says.
Dr Stanley Wong, who was appointed chief executive officer of the Competition Commission last September, said it was a unique challenge to enforce the law when people had questioned its necessity in the world's freest economy.
In his first one-on-one interview, the Canadian lawyer told the yesterday: "We know from studies that cartels generally make prices 10 per cent higher than otherwise."
When pharmaceutical companies colluded to fix vitamin prices in the 1990s, Hongkongers were overcharged by an estimated US$178 million.
Overseas jurisdictions have been active in prosecuting price fixing of liquid crystal displays used on the screens of computers, mobile phones and televisions, as well as car components. All such prosecutions would affect consumers, and it was expected that prices for related products would drop when cartels were stopped, Wong said.
He said the commission was mandated by law to pursue any cases involving products sold in the city. The priority would be to prosecute four types of core anti-competitive conduct: price fixing, market allocation, output restrictions and bid-rigging.
