Competition Commission of Singapore Consults on Changes to Leniency Programme

Introduction

1. The Competition Commission of Singapore (‘CCS’) plans to enhance its leniency programme and is inviting public feedback on the changes.

2. Currently, the CCS has a leniency programme to encourage businesses to come forward with information and evidence regarding cartel activities. CCS plans to introduce a Marker system and a Leniency Plus system to the leniency programme to enhance the effectiveness of CCS’ enforcement action against cartels. 

3. The Marker system allows a potential leniency applicant to keep its place in the leniency queue for a given period of time, while it gathers the necessary information and evidence for the leniency application. 

4. The Leniency Plus system encourages cartel members under investigation for a cartel activity to report on involvement in another cartel activity. In so doing, a cartel member can obtain a discount on the financial penalty that may be imposed by CCS for its involvement in the first cartel activity, in addition to full immunity from financial penalty for the second reported cartel. 

Public Feedback 

5. These changes are incorporated in the draft revised Guideline on Lenient Treatment for Undertakings Coming Forward with Information on Cartel Activity Cases. The consultation documents on the draft revised guidelines can be downloaded from the CCS website at www.ccs.gov.sg under the section “Active/Latest Consultation” and the Government Online Consultation Portal at www.reach.gov.sg.

6. The closing date for submissions is on or before 12 noon, 3 October 2008. Please click here for details on mode of consultation.

7. Please see below for background information.

ANNEX A

About the Competition Commission of Singapore

The CCS is a statutory body established under the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) on 1 January 2005 to administer and enforce the Act. Its mission is championing competition for growth and choice. For more information, visit www.ccs.gov.sg.

A cartel can be an agreement between producers or suppliers of a good or service to limit their production and/or fix prices. Cartel agreements could be written and formal but are usually verbal, informal and secret. There are four main types of cartel conduct: a) price-fixing; b) bid-rigging; c) market sharing; and d) restrictions on output.

Cartels inhibit competition since there is little or no incentive for cartel members to lower prices or provide better quality goods or services through operating efficiently or investing in technology and innovative processes. As a result, consumers are hurt and there is likely to be harm to the Singapore economy as well.

For queries, please contact 1800 3258282.