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BOTSWANA: COMPETITION AUTHORITY PROHIBITS MERGER POST-IMPLEMENTATION

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– by Michael-James Currie

On 17 February 2017, the Competition Authority of Botswana (CA) prohibited a merger between Universal House (Pty) Ltd and Mmegi Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd.

Furthermore, the merger had already been implemented and, therefore, the CA ordered that the 28.73% interest in Mmegi Investments which Universal Investments had acquired be divested to a third party.

At the stage of ordering the divestiture, a suitable third party had not yet been identified and the merging parties were obliged to sell the 28.73 shares to a third party “with no business interests affiliated in any way with the acquiring entity”. The divestiture is also to take place within three months of the CA’s decisions and, should the thresholds be met for a mandatorily notifiable merger, the CA would require that the proposed divestiture also be notified.

The CA prohibited the merger on the grounds that the transaction was likely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the market. In particular, the CA held that the “market structure in the provision of commercial radio broadcasting services will be altered, and as such raises competition and public interest concerns”.

The CA does not, in its decision, elaborate specifically on what basis the proposed merger would likely lead to a lessening of competition in the market nor is there any mention of the public interest grounds upon which the CA prohibited the merger.

Regardless, the CA’s decision is clear affirmation that, like many competition agencies in Africa, it will not be seen to merely rubber-stamp mergers, but rather embark on substantive investigations in order to assess the impact of a particular transaction on the market, both in terms of traditional competition considerations and also on public interest grounds.

Accordingly, in light of the CA’s increasingly vigorous approach to merger control, firms who are potentially looking at potential mergers or acquisitions in Botswana need to take cognizance of the importance:

  • of ensuring that transactions are notified to the CA prior to implementing such a transaction; and
  • of ensuring that a comprehensive market and competitiveness report is submitted as part of the merger filing to ensure that the merging parties are best placed to demonstrate that a proposed transaction would not have adverse effects on competition in the market or on the public interest grounds.

In addition to engaging in increasingly substantive merger assessments, the CA has also demonstrated that it has the confidence and resources to tackle anti-competitive conduct practices as well as conduct market studies.

The Competition Authority of Botswana is, therefore, fast becoming one of Southern Africa’s more robust competition agencies.

 

 

 

 

SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA’S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS MAY BE HINT AT INTRODUCTION OF COMPLEX MONOPOLY PROVISIONS

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While the media headlines are largely filled with the disruptions that took place at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Jacob Zuma on 9 February 2017, the President made an important remark which, if true, may have a significant impact on competition law in South Africa, particular in relation to abuse of dominance cases.

In this regard, the President stated that:

“During this year, the Department of Economic Development will bring legislation to Cabinet that will seek to amend the Competition Act. It will among others address the need to have a more inclusive economy and to de-concentrate the high levels of ownership and control we see in many sectors. We will then table the legislation for consideration by parliament.

In this way, we seek to open up the economy to new players, give black South Africans opportunities in the economy and indeed help to make the economy more dynamic, competitive and inclusive. This is our vision of radical economic transformation.”

Patel talksNeither the President nor Minister Patel have given any further clarity as to the proposed legislative amendments other than Patel’s remarks early in January 2017 in which he stated that:

“The review covers areas such as the efficacy of the administration of the Competition Act, procedural aspects in the investigation and prosecution of offences, matters relating to abuse of dominance, more effective investigations against cartels and the current public interest provisions of the act.“

Says John Oxenham, a competition attorney who has closely followed the legislative and policy developments, “despite the broad non-committal remarks by Minister Patel, it is clear that the Minister is zealous in having the ‘complex monopoly’ provisions brought into force to address in order to address, what the Minister perceives to be, significant abuse of dominance in certain concentrated markets.”

In terms of the provisions, as currently drafted, where five or less firms have 75% market share in the same market, a firm could be found to have engaged in prohibited conduct if any two or more of those firms collectively act in a parallel manner which has the effect of lessening competition in the market (i.e. by creating barriers to entry, charging excessive prices or exclusive dealing and “other market characteristics which indicate coordinated behavior”).

white-collar-crimeDespite having been promulgated in 2009, the ‘complex monopoly’ provisions have not yet been brought into effect largely due to the concerns raised as to how these provisions will be enforced, says Primerio Ltd.’s Andreas Stargard: “It is noteworthy that the introduction of criminal liability for directors and persons with management authority who engage in cartel conduct was also promulgated in 2009, but surprised most (including the Competition Authorities) when it was quite unexpectedly brought into force in 2016.”

Minister Patel was no doubt a key driving force behind the introduction of criminal liability and it would, therefore, not be surprising if the complex monopoly provisions are brought into force with equal swiftness in 2017.

Kenya: CAK Formally Initiates a Market Inquiry into the Retail Sector

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On 27 January 2017, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) exercised its powers in terms of section 18 (1) (a) of the Competition Act, 2010, to conduct a market inquiry into the branded retail sector.

The notice, as published in the Government Gazette and signed by CAK Director General Wang’ombe Kariuki stated that “the main objective of the study is to assess the state of competition in the market for branded retail by examining the multilayered structure of the market and the conduct of market players. The market inquiry will explore the dimensions and the intensity of competition between branded retailers and how these impact on price, quality and range of offerings to the Kenyan consumer.”

The CAK is the third African competition agency to conduct a market inquiry into the retail sector following inquiries in Botswana and South Africa.  The COMESA Competition Commission has also announced that it intends to conduct a market inquiry into the retail food sector, although to date the CCC has not formally initiated such an inquiry.

Unsurprisingly, the focus of the CAK’s inquiry is strikingly similar to the grocery retail market inquiry currently under way in South Africa, with both authorities focusing their attention on large retailers who allegedly engage in practices which distorts competition in the market.  In particular, the CAK will focus on the following issues:

  • the allocation of shelf space and the relative bargaining power between retailers and their suppliers;
  • the nature of and the extent of exclusive agreements at one stop shop destinations and their effects on competition;
  • the pricing strategies retailers employ especially in regards to responding to new entrants;
  • whether there are any strategic barriers to entry created by incumbent firms to limit entry in the market; and
  • the effect of the supermarkets branded products on competition.

The issues listed above are largely common focus areas in market inquiries conducted not only in Africa but also in a number of European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom,

Interestingly, the CAK’s market inquiry goes broader than purely competition issues but also has an element of “consumer protection”. For instance, one of the practices which allegedly is a common feature in the industry is what is termed “dual pricing” – where Retailers display lower product prices on the shelf but which are higher at the till.

The CAK will also investigate the rate of recurrence of the sale of defective stock by retailers to consumers and how subsequent complaints by consumers are dealt with by retailers. The CAK intends to establish the proportion of retailers that have fully operational retail return policies and to what extent they are adhered to in an attempt to evaluate whether consumers are adequately protected.

Unlike the South African Competition Act, the Kenya Competition Act also contains specific consumer protection provisions which caters for unfair trade practices and transactions that affect consumer rights such as under-cutting and over-pricing of goods and services as well as the use of misleading information to sell goods and services. This is in addition to Kenya’s self-standing Consumer Protection Act which is governed by the Kenya Consumers Protection Advisory Committee (CPAC).

The CPAC is tasked with, inter alia, facilitating the “co-ordination and networking of consumer activities and the development of linkages with consumer organizations and the competent authorities and agencies locally and outside Kenya for the protection of consumer interests”. The CPAC is, therefore, responsible for monitoring and reviewing the trading and business practices relating to the supply of goods and services to consumers, and to activities related or ancillary thereto.

It remains to be seen to what extent the CPAC is actively involved in the CAK’s market inquiry, particularly in relation to the consumer protection provisions

Focusing our attention back to the competition law implications of the market inquiry, industry players across the retails chain should be particularly cognisant of the recent amendments to the Kenya Competition Act which introduced the concept of “abuse of buyer power”. Africanantitrust previously published an article by Michael-James Currie and Ruth Mosoti who noted that “it is not technically a requirement that a firm be ‘dominant’ in order to be considered to have “buying power”.

Furthermore, the introduction of the “abuse of buyer power” provisions was largely as a result of complaints received by the CAK in the retail sector, particularly by suppliers. In addition, the CAK may well have learnt from market inquiries conducted in other jurisdictions that absent any ‘dominance’ by retailers, there is a limited prospect of successfully prosecuting firms for engaging in practices which ay distort competition in the market. In this regard, Currie and Mosoti stated further that:

“the Kenyan Competition Authority may have thought to pre-empt this challenge and, therefore, included the “abuse of dominance” provisions without requiring a firm to actually be dominant for the provision to be triggered. Furthermore, the definition of “buying power” and the absence of any requirement that the conduct must in fact be anti-competitive may have been an attempt by the legislator to lower the threshold in an effort to assist a complainant in cases where a purchaser, such as a large retailer, exerts “buyer power”, but is not “dominant” in the market.”

Accordingly, in light of the broad scope of the CAK’s market inquiry coupled with the introduction of the ‘abuse of buyer power’ provisions, it is advisable for all players in the Kenyan retail sector to actively consider their business operations, not only from a competition perspective but also from a consumer protection perspective.

Kenya: Recent Amendments to the Act adds an Interesting Dimension to the Abuse of Dominance Provisions

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Introduction of Abuse of ‘Buyer Power’ Provisions Muddies the Water

Ruth Mosoti

By Michael-James Currie and Ruth Mosoti

currie2

In November last year, the editors of Africanantitrust indicated that a number of amendments to the Kenya Competition Act of 2010 were being proposed by way of the Competition Amendment Bill (Amendment Bill) in the article Competition Amendment Bill to bring about Radical changes to the Act

The Amendment Bill was assented to by the President in December 2016 and the amendments are, therefore, effective.

Although most of the amendments which are particularly noteworthy were addressed in the above article, a particularly noteworthy amendment, and very much the focus of this article, is the newly introduced prohibition of an abuse of “buyer power”. In this regard, Section 24 of the Act, which deals with abuse of dominance generally, has been amended to also cater for an abuse of “buyer power.”

Section 24 of the Act was, even prior to the introduction of “buyer power” a particularly challenging provision to interpret and it has not been clear how the provisions relating to an abuse of dominance would ultimately be assessed.

By way of background, the definition of “dominance” in the Act, effectively states that a firm will be considered dominant if that firm has greater than 50% market share

The Act goes on to list, without being exhaustive, a number of practices which would typically constitute an abuse of dominance including:

  • imposing unfair purchasing or selling prices;
  • limiting or restricting output, market access or technological advancements;
  • tying and/or bundling as part of contractual terms; or
  • abusing intellectual property rights.

The Act does not provide further guidance as to what would precisely constitute an “abuse” of dominance and under what circumstances a purchasing or selling price would be deemed to be “unfair”.

The abuse of dominance provisions do not necessarily, therefore, appear to be directly linked to the promotion or maintenance of competition in the market. Once it is shown that a firm has more than 50% market share, firms are in treacherous terrain as the threshold for engaging in “abuse” of dominance is relatively low when compared to many other comparable jurisdictions which generally cater for a rule of reason defence or at least provide greater guidance as to what conduct would constitute a per se violation.

By way of an example, in terms of the South Africa Competition Act, a dominant firm is per se prohibited from charging an “excessive price”. The South African Competition Act does, however, define an “excessive price” as one which “bears no reasonable relation to the economic value thereof”. Despite this definition, further guidance has been sought but the competition authorities as to what, in turn, constitutes a “reasonable” and “economic value.”

Over and above certain identified acts of abuse of dominance, the South African Competition Act also includes for a “catch-all” abuse of dominance provision. However, the conduct will only amount to an “abuse” if there is an anti-competitive effect which cannot be justified by a rule of reason analysis.

The comparison with the South African Competition Act is useful as the Kenyan Competition Act does not provide for a similar assessment as does its South African counter-part. For instance, it is not clear how predatory pricing or excessive pricing would be evaluated under the Kenyan Act. Presumably this would fall under the preclusion of charging an “unfair” selling price, which leads one back to the question as to what constitutes an “unfair” price.

In addition to the above, the recent addition of “buyer power” to the abuse of dominance provisions has added to the complexity and risk to firms on the procurement side.

“Buyer power” is defined as the “the influence exerted by an undertaking in the position or group of undertakings in the position of a purchaser of a product or service to obtain from a supplier more favourable terms, or to impose long term opportunity costs including harm or withheld benefit which, if carried out, would be significantly disproportionate to any resulting long term cost to the undertaking or group of undertakings.”

Furthermore, in considering whether a firm has “buyer power” the following factors will be considered:

  • the nature of the contractual terms;
  • the payment requested for access infrastructure; and
  • the price paid to suppliers.

Accordingly, the crux of the rather cumbersome definition is that an undertaking will only be considered to have “buying power” if that undertaking(s) has simultaneously actually abused its’ buying power. In other words, there is no distinction between what constitutes “buying power” and what constitutes an “abuse” of buying power. The Act’s definition of “buying power” is, therefore, all encompassing.

Although the above definition is somewhat unclear, it should be noted that the Competition Authority of Kenya, together with Parliament and other stakeholders intend developing rules which would hopefully clarify how these provisions will ultimately be evaluated.

A further important point to note is that it is not a requirement that a firm be ‘dominant’ in order to be considered to have “buying power”. Whether it was the intention of the legislator to require a firm to first be ‘dominant’ before it could be prosecuted for “abuse of buyer power” is not entirely clear. The definition of “buying power” is remarkably silent on this issue.

The fact that the preclusion of an abuse of buyer power necessitates that a firm be dominant could be inferred by the fact that provision is inserted under Section 24 (the abuse of dominance provisions).

However, the definition of “buyer power” caters for a situation where a group of undertakings, such as when a buying group, is formed, exert buyer power, the group commits an offence. Accordingly, it may have been that the legislator was contemplating a situation in which a group of undertakings, such as a buying group collectively meets the ‘dominance’ threshold (i.e. a greater than 50% market share).

Alternatively, it could have been the intention of the legislator that the abuse of buyer power has no direct link to dominance as such and that once a firm or group of firms satisfy the definition of “buyer power”, irrespective of their market shares, the provision is triggered.

In a number of developing countries such as Turkey, South Africa and Botswana have conducted market inquiries into the grocery retail sector. Although the focus of these inquiries are relatively broad, a common focus of all the market inquiries in this sector relates to the role that the large retailers play in the market. In particular, suppliers and competition agencies are often concerned with the buying power which large retailers could exert on suppliers and that the trading terms are unfair, particularly for smaller retailers who are not always in a position to pay for shelf space, access fees or offer the discounts demanded by the retailers.

In many instances, however, the large retailers are not ‘dominant’ and a complainant would need to demonstrate that the buying power exerted by the large retailer is in fact anti-competitive.

The Kenyan Competition Authority may have thought to pre-empt this challenge and therefore included the “abuse of dominance” provisions without requiring a firm to actually be dominant for the provision to be triggered. Furthermore, the definition of “buying power” and the absence of any requirement that the conduct must in fact be anti-competitive may have been an attempt by the legislator to lower the threshold in an effort to assist a complainant in cases where a purchaser, such as a large retailer, exerts “buyer power”, but is not “dominant” in the market.

The absence of any objective qualification to assess when a firm has exerted “buyer power” in an “unfair” manner may open the litigation floodgates. A further reason why it is important that the authorities publish rules to assist with the interpretation and implementation of the “abuse of buyer” power provisions.

In terms of enforcement, the Act was previously silent on the role of the Authority upon the conclusion of an abuse of dominance investigation and the only option lay on criminal prosecution of the offending undertaking. The recent amendments to the Act now allows the Authority to impose fines of up to 10% of the annual turnover of the offending undertaking(s).

Kenya: Competition Amendment Bill to bring about Radical changes to the Act

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kenyaThe Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has recently announced that a number of proposed amendments to the Competition Act are currently pending before the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

The proposed amendments are generally aimed at increasing sanctions and CAK’s authority to detect and prosecute anti-competitive behaviour as well as to ensure that parties provide the CAK with adequate and correct information to properly assess merger notifications.

  • Anti-competitive conduct

Importantly, the amendments seek to introduce a financial threshold for respondents who are found to have engaged in abuse of dominance practices. Currently, there is no administrative penalty for a abuse of dominance.

The amendments further include an administrative cap of 10% for engaging in cartel conduct.

Interestingly, the amendments also seek to introduce measures to protect suppliers from buying groups. Unlike the South African Competition Act which specifically precludes competitors from entering into an agreement or concerted practice which amounts to the fixing of a purchase price or trading condition, Kenya’s Competition Act does not have a similar express prohibition.

It is also not clear, at this stage, what the anti competitive effect of buying groups is having in Kenya. The CAK has, however, indicated that suppliers are often left short-changed as a result of buying groups not paying the suppliers. Whether this has or may have a foreclosure effect on suppliers is noy yet apparent.

In any event, the proposed solution is likely to be resolved through the development of guidelines rather than an amendment to the Act.

  • Mergers

A clear indication that the CAK is increasing its efforts to ensure that they are not merely a regulatory body which rubber stamps merger approvals is the proposed introduction of penalties for merging parties who submit incorrect information to the CAK during a merger filing.

In addition, in terms of Section 47 of the Competition Act, the CAK may revoke their decision to approve or conditionally approve a merger if the merger approval was granted based on materially incorrect or false information provided during the notification and/or the merger is implemented in contravention of any merger approval related conditions.  In terms of the amendments, the CAK is proposing the introduction of criminal liability for merging parties who implement a merger despite the CAK having revoked the merger.

Merging parties will, therefore, need to ensure that they adequately prepare and submit comprehensive merger filings.

As to the definition of what constitutes a “merger” for purposes of the Competition Act, the proposed amendments seek to clarify that a change of control can take place by the acquisition of assets.

  • Market inquiries

Section 18 of the Act is also to be amended to place an obligation on parties to provide the CAK with information during market inquiries.

We have not yet seen the CAK conduct a full blown market inquiry as has been the case in South Africa. In light, however, of the CAK and the South African Competition Commission’s (SACC) advocacy initiatives (readers wlll recall that the CAK and the SACC recently concluded a Memorandum of Understanding), the CAK may soon launch a market inquiry into priority sectors such as grocery retail and agro-processing.

 

 

South African Competition Commission… More Dawn Raids!

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By AAT Senior Contributor, Michael-James Currie.

On 28 September 2016, the South African Competition Commission (SACC) conducted a further set of dawn raids. This time, on various cargo shipping liners based in the provinces of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Western Cape.

The SACC indicated that “Hamburg Sud South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Maersk South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Safmarine (Pty) Ltd, Mediterranean Shipping Company (Pty) Ltd, Pacific International Line South Africa (Pty) Ltd and CMA CGM Shipping Agencies South Africa (Pty) Ltd have engaged in collusive practices to, inter alia, fix the incremental rates for the shipment of cargo from Asia to South Africa in contravention of the Competition Act”.

The investigation is allegedly a result of a complaint received from a member of public.

south_africaThe SACC has not provided an indication of the period over which conduct took place and whether this investigation relates to historical or on-going conduct. This is an important consideration in light of the introduction of criminalisation of cartel conduct, which came into effect as of 1 May 2016. In terms of the Section 73A of the Competition Amendment Act, any director or person with management authority may be held criminally liable for ‘causing’ or ‘knowingly acquiescing’ in cartel conduct.

Since the notion of criminal liability was put raised as far back as 2008, there have been substantial concerns raised about the effectiveness of the SACC’s corporate leniency policy which in effect, offers immunity to a company who whistle blows, from an administrative penalty only. The CLP does not offer immunity to any individual from criminal prosecution, as the discretion to prosecute an individual under Section 73A, rests solely with the National Prosecuting Authority.

The interplay between the introduction of criminal liability and dawn raids will, in our view, be quite significant as there have been a number of respondents who have thought to approach the SACC for leniency, off the back of a dawn raid. A decision which a company may think twice about if its directors may potentially be held criminally liable.

Regardless of the impact which the criminalisation of cartel conduct may have on the whistleblowing regime, the SACC remains committed to utilising dawn raids as one of its most powerful investigative tools.

The SACC has been strong proponent of dawn raids and despite having conducted its first dawn raids in the early 2000’s, the past 18 months has seen a marked spike in the number of dawn raids conducted across a broad range of sectors.

The shipping industry in particular has been the subject of significant attention from the South African Competition Authorities and last year saw substantial administrative penalties, of over R95 million, levied by way of a settlement agreement on WWL and NYK Shipping Liners respectively for having engaged cartel conduct in relation to certain shipping routes. This investigation, however, remains on-going.

Namibian Competition Commission Conducts Dawn Raid in the Oil & Gas sector

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namibiaBy AAT Senior Contributor, Michael-James Currie.

Dawn raids are gaining significant traction throughout the African agencies following the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) very recent (16 September 2016), raid conducted at the operations at Puma Energy in Windhoek. The raid follows the NaCC having received numerous third party complaints alleging that Puma Energy was abusing its dominance by engaging in excessive pricing practices in the aviation fuel supply market.

The NaCC had recently published Guidelines in relation to Restrictive Practices. The Guidelines focus primarily on the NaCC’s investigative powers and in particular, search and seizure operations. Africanantitrust suspected that the Guidelines would result in a move by the agency to be more proactive in its efforts to detect, prosecute and ultimately combat anti-competitive practices.

Africanantitrust had noted that search and seizure operations by competition law agencies across Africa were on the rise. The South African Competition Commission has drastically increased its utilisation of dawn raids as an investigative tool in its arsenal. The SACC has, furthermore, provided guidance and training to a number of other African jurisdictions respective agencies on search and seizure operations and how to conduct effective dawn raids under the auspices of the African Competition Forum.  Says John Oxenham, competition practitioner with Pr1merio: “2016 saw Kenya conduct its first dawn raid in the fertiliser sector as well as Zambia increasing the number of dawn raids conducted.”

The South African Competition Commission’s advocacy efforts should be considered in light of the number of recently concluded Memoranda of Understanding which the SACC has entered into with other regional agencies as well, including the NaCC.

In terms of the MoU with Namibia, it is envisaged that there will be greater cooperation in relation to information exchanges and assistance with common investigations between the NaCC and the SACC.

The NaCC is yet to prosecute an abuse of dominance case and we will ensure that Africanantrust continues to monitor this case and provide our followers with timeous updates should any significant further developments take place.

SOUTH AFRICA: RECORD-BREAKING FINE IMPOSED ON ARCELORMITTAL SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED

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By AAT Senior Contributor, Michael-James Currie.

The Competition Commission and South African steel producer, ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (ArcelorMittal), have agreed to settle six complaints against ArcelorMittal for R1.5 billion (approximately US$ 112 million), in what is the largest (agreed) administrative penalty imposed in South Africa.

The penalty (by consent order) represents just under 5% of ArcelorMittal total turnover (including chemicals) for 2015.

The allegations which were brought against ArcelorMittal included allegations of price fixing and market allocation in what was termed by the Competition Commission the “steel cartel”.

In terms of the settlement agreement, ArcelorMittal admitted to contravening section 4(1)(b) of the Competition Act and will pay not less than R300 million per annum for five years from 2017. Furthermore, ArcelorMittal has undertaken to invest approximately R4.6 million into the South African economy for the next 5 years (provided the prevailing economic conditions render such investment feasible). Interest will be charged on the outstanding amount, interest starting to run 17 months after the finalisation of the settlement agreement.

In addition to the cartel conduct, the Commission had also instituted a complaint alleging the dominant steel manufacturer had engaged in excessive pricing. Although ArcelorMittal did not admit to wrongdoing in relation to the abuse of dominance allegation, the parties nevertheless agree that ArcelorMittal would not generate earnings before interest and tax of over 10% for the next 5 years (subject to certain exceptions).

The Competition Commission’s press release states the following:

ArcelorMittal admits that it engaged in collusion with CISCO, Scaw and Cape Gate by fixing prices and discounts, allocating customers and sharing commercially sensitive information in the market for the manufacture of long steel products, in contravention of the Competition Act. ArcelorMittal also admits that it fixed the purchased price of scrap metal with Columbus Steel, Cape Gate and Scaw. In respect of the flat steel complaint and the Barnes Fencing complaints, ArcelorMittal admits the conduct as alleged by the Commission but does not admit that this conduct constituted a contravention of the Competition Act. In relation to the pricing complaint, ArcelorMittal does not admit that it acted in contravention of the Competition Act.

The investigation and settlement agreement follows a leniency application brought by another respondent, Scaw Metals.  There is little doubt that the Competition Commission’s corporate leniency policy has permitted the Commission to uncover and successfully prosecute a number of cartels.   As previously reported on AAT, the risk remains that the recent introduction of criminal liability (on directors or persons having management authority)  for engaging in cartel conduct, may dampen the use of the whistle-blower regime (absent any formal immunity from criminal prosecutions).

The settlement agreement does, however, bring finality to all six cases against ArcelorMittal.

In light of the very recent civil damages awarded in favour of Nationwide Airlines against South African Airways for abuse of dominance which led to loss of profits, it will be interesting to see whether any civil party elects to prosecute ArcelorMittal for the excessive pricing complaint. In terms of the South African Competition Act and a recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal, it appears as if the door is closed on a civil litigant brining a civil damages claim against a respondent, based on a breach of the competition Act, if there has been no adverse finding made against such a respondent by the Competition Tribunal (or Competition Appeal Court) as per section 65 of the Competition Act.

The admission to having engaged in cartel conduct, may, however, expose ArcelorMittal to civil liability over and above the settlement agreement.

South African Taxi Industry: Who gets hurt the most?

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By Senior AAT Correspondent, Michael-James Currie

Currently, the South African Competition Commission is investigating Uber in relation to alleged anti-competitive practices. The crux of the complaint against Uber, which was brought by the SA Taxi Meter Association, is that Uber has engaged in predatory pricing in contravention of the South African Competition Act.

This is not the first complaint Uber has faced before the competition agencies. The authorities in the US, Kenya and India have all investigated the company for anti-competitive practices.

The confrontation between metered taxis and Uber culminated in a number of violent protests this year, to the extent that Uber drivers were reluctant to pick-up or drop-off passengers near certain popular venues so as to avoid physical conflict with metered taxi drivers.

Without engaging fully on the merits of the complaint brought against Uber, there are a number of important hurdles which a complainant needs to overcome in order to successfully prosecute a case of predatory pricing (this is one of the listed grounds in the Competition Act relating to abuse of dominance).

The author has previously, and exclusively for Africanantitrust, published a paper which comprehensively evaluates the Media24 case, which is the most recent case of predatory pricing successfully prosecuted by the Competition Commission before the Competition Tribunal.  The paper clearly sets out the challenges in formulating a predatory pricing case against a respondent and adducing sufficient evidence to prove such a case.

Apart from having to prove that Uber is in fact dominant in a particular market (which may be challenging considering Uber does not own any vehicles), and that Uber’s pricing amounted to predation (i.e. proving that the respondent supplied its services below its marginal cost or average variable cost), the Competition Tribunal will also have to be satisfied that the conduct does not have efficiency or pro-competitive effects which outweigh any anti-competitive effects.

It is in respect of the last point which, at least at face value, appears to be a major hurdle in respect of Uber’s complainants. Uber’s rapid success, not only in South Africa but across a multitude of jurisdictions, is largely as a result of providing customers with a new innovative, cost effective service. It appears to be the very essence and objectives of competition which resulted in Uber’s success, to the detriment of metered taxis.

As, Primerio director, Andreas Stargard stated in a previous article on africanantitrust:

“The pro-competitive notion of innovation-plus-price competition is perhaps best understood by looking at the views of two leading antitrust agencies, the FTC and the European Commission.   Both have articulated simple and sound arguments for striking the right balance between regulatory limits for the protection of passengers, as well as allowing innovative technologies to enhance the competitive landscape and thereby increasing transportation options for riders.  In antitrust law, more options usually equal better outcomes.

In particular, Stargard points to the following statement made by the FTC in relation to a similar complaint brought against Uber in U.S, some three years ago:

“Competition and consumer protection naturally complement and mutually reinforce each other, to the benefit of consumers. Consumers benefit from market competition, which creates incentives for producers to be innovative and responsive to consumer preferences with respect to price, quality, and other product and service characteristics. As the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized, the benefits of competition go beyond lower prices: ‘The assumption that competition is the best method of allocating resources in a free market recognizes that all elements of a bargain – quality, service, safety, and durability – and not just the immediate cost, are favorably affected by the free opportunity to select among alternative offers.”

The net sum of the Uber analogy is that Uber is widely regarded as beneficial to consumers and until evidence comes to light which contradicts this, it is difficult to come to any other conclusion. John Oxenham notes that the Competition Commission of India, had this to say about the complaint against Uber:

“the allegations made are opposed to the basic tenets of competition law.

“Inability of the existing players or new entrants to match the innovative technology or app developed by any player or the model created for operating in a particular industry cannot be said to be creating entry barriers in itself,”

While the South African Competition Commission has not yet pronounced on whether it will initiate a complaint against Uber, the complaint has brought into focus an industry which to date, has received very little attention from the competition authorities.

In this regard, we note that Mr David Lipton of the International Monetary Fund, recently stated that “Tariffs on poultry imports also came under fire because of their effect on poor consumers as did SA’s “taxi and bus cartels“. This he said “prevented transport markets from competitiveness”. Mr Lipton highlighted the need for greater competitiveness within the South African markets and highlighted that regulatory requirements often served as a significant barrier to entry.

We note that in respect of the taxi industry, it is perhaps the under enforcement of regulatory provisions such as the Competition Act, which has an equally deleterious effect on competition.

It is regularly reported that the “taxi and bus” industry is riddled with collusive behaviour. In light of the fact that most of South Africa’s indigent are fully dependent on taxis for transportation in South Africa and spend a significant portion of their disposal income on taxi fees, this is an issue which needs to be addressed urgently by the competition agencies by acting “without fear, favour or prejudice”.

In this regard, the following extract from the daily maverick highlights the negative state of play which exists in the taxi industry:

“With the birth of this industry also came problems, of course. South Africa was always bad at protecting lives and property, especially if you were black. In such an environment, it was little wonder that legitimate measures to protect their own property soon extended to underhanded and sometimes violent means to quash competition.

This, however, is not an argument against the taxi industry, but against a government that is unable to enforce laws that prevent intimidation and violence to protect the business interests of commercial cartels.

The iron-fisted rule of the taxi associations, the firm grip they have on routes, and the short shrift they give to rivals, is a troubling feature of the industry. It limits competition, which reduces capital investment and keeps prices fixed.

Passengers are well aware of this, and would gladly choose alternatives, if they’re perceived to be cheaper, faster or safer.

Unfortunately, instead of enforcing laws that would enable free-market competition to meet this desire, the state is heading the other way. It is building alternative public transport options, and pouring taxpayer billions into them.”

In Minister Ebrahim Patel’s budget speech in April 2016, the Minister, who in his opening remarks stated that “Economies are about people, not simply numbers and policies” went on to quote the following extract from a recent World Bank study on competition in South Africa:

“In the case of four cartels in maize, wheat, poultry and pharmaceuticals – products which make up 15.6% of the consumption basket of the poorest 10 percent – conservative estimates indicate that around 200 000 people stood to be lifted above the poverty line by tackling cartel overcharges”.

Given that there are approximately 250 000 taxis on the road transporting approximately 15 million passengers per day, and that these passengers include those “within the poorest 10%”, it is surprising that, in light of the findings of the IMF, public transport, particularly insofar as taxis and buses is concerned, has not been identified by the Competition Commission as a “priority sector” nor investigated with the same gusto as that which corporate entities, to date, have received.

Dawn raids on the increase across Africa

Posted on by Editor

By Michael-James Currie and Jenna Foley

March 2016 has been a busy month for the competition agencies of South Africa and Kenya respectively. Both agencies carried out search and seizure operations as a result of alleged collusion within various sectors of the economy. While the March dawn raids are not connected, the South African Competition Authority, as part of its advocacy outreach, provided training to the Competition Authority of Kenya relating to inter alia, search and seizure operations.

South Africa

On 23 March 2016, the South African Competition Commission carried out search and seizure operations in the automotive glass fitment industry, as part of its continued investigation into alleged collusion within this sector.

Accordingy to the SACC, the raid was carried out “at the Gauteng premises of PG Glass, Glasfit, Shatterprufe and Digicall as part of its investigation of alleged collusion. PG Glass and Glasfit are automotive glass fitment and repair service providers; Shatterprufe supplies PG Glass and Glasfit with automotive glass while Digicall processes and administers automotive glass related insurance claims on behalf of PG Glass and Glasfit.”

John Oxenham, founding director of Pr1merio, notes that “[t]his most recent dawn raid follows on from those carried out towards the latter part of 2014 and 2015 and confirms that the SACC has adopted a more robust approach to investigating alleged anti-competitive practices.” In this regard, Commissioner, Tembinkosi Bonakele, confirmed at the 9th Annual Competition, Law, Economics and Policy Conference in November last year that the Competition Commission has in the past two years, “conducted more dawn raids than those conducted in preceding years since the Competition Commission came into existence” (nearly 16 years ago).

For an overview of dawn raids and cartel investigations in South Africa, please see the following GCR Article.

Kenya

This month the Competition Authority of Kenya (“CAK”) conducted its first dawn raid. The search and seizure operations were carried out in respect of two fertiliser firms, Mea Limited and the Yara East Africa, based on the CAK’s suspicion of price fixing occurring between these two firms, who together control approximately 60% of the fertiliser market.   The CAK conducted the raid in accordance with Section 32 of the Competition Act, 2011 which provides for the Authority to enter any premises in which persons are believed to be in possession of relevant information and documents and inspect the premises and any goods, documents and records situated thereon. This follows an inquiry which was launched last year by Kenyan competition authorities into what the CAK termed “powerful trade associations exhibiting cartel-like behaviour specifically targeting banks, microfinance institutions, forex bureaus, capital markets as well as the agricultural and insurance lobbies”.  The fact that the CAK has carried out its first dawn raid demonstrates its growing stature.

The fertiliser industry appears to be a priority sector for a number of African jurisdictions as the CAK’s investigation into this sector follows the South African Competition Commission’s investigation into the fertiliser industry (which resulted in a referral before to the South African Competition Tribunal for adjudication some years back). In this regard, the South African Competition Commission’s spokesperson stated that the “fertiliser sector is viewed as a priority sector, due to the its importance as an input in the agricultural sector” (as reported here on African antitrust)

Zambia

Interestingly, the Zambian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) had, in 2012, conducted dawn raids at the premises of two fertiliser companies, as a result of alleged collusion within the industry.

On a Path to Harmonisation?

While there are a number of practical and legislative hurdles to effectively carrying out cross border search and seizure operations, it appears that cross border investigations may not be too far off. This is particularly so as the various agencies within the Southern African Region have identified similar priority sectors (as evidenced by both the investigations into the fertiliser sectors as well as the various market inquiries into the grocery retail sector).