Saudi Arabia: SR6.4m fine imposed on companies for monopolistic practices

Cairo: Saudi Arabia's government antitrust agency has announced it imposed fines totaling SR6.4 million on 14 contracting companies for violating the country's competition law. This is the second such measure taken in less than a month.

The General Authority for Competition added that it has imposed fines on firms found to be involved in collusion regarding their price offers for government contracts. The penalties are based on final rulings issued by an administrative appeals court in Riyadh.

The agency is tasked with consolidating fair competitiveness and blocking monopolistic practices harmful to the market and consumers.

Earlier this month, the same agency announced that it had imposed fines totaling more than SR77 million on other contracting companies implicated in collusion and coordination in government contracts.

A committee tasked with ruling on competition law violations has penalised the involved companies with a total of SR77.5 million in fines.

The Authority said it will publish the committee's decision in full once it is final.

In June, the agency announced it had imposed SR14.8 million in fines on six companies involved in transporting cars and other goods after they were found to have colluded to raise prices.

In April, the Authority fined 14 cement companies SR10 million each for colluding to raise cement prices and monopolise the market, in violation of Saudi competition law, which prohibits acts and agreements among competing companies that control prices of goods and services.

A court in Riyadh rejected the appeals filed by the companies against the decisions, making them final. Additionally, the companies were ordered to publish the penalty decision at their own expense.