Related Articles
Top Stories
Feb 13 2012 12:15
Miner Xstrata says it has brought forward maintenance on two furnaces to assist Eskom to save power.
Feb 13 2012 10:43
Although jobs were created, the economy is still 420 000 jobs short of the peak employment level before the 2009 global financial crisis, says Adcorp.
Feb 13 2012 07:58
Greek lawmakers have approved a new round of drastic austerity measures after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured.
Johannesburg - After its search and seize raid at the offices of major cement producers on Thursday, the Competition Commission said it had not reached any conclusions yet on alleged cartel behaviour in the industry.
"The construction industry is one of our priority industries, but we haven't made any findings yet (pertaining to the cement industry)," said head of strategy at the commission Nandi Mokoena.
On Thursday, the offices of PPC, Lafarge Industries South Africa, AfriSam Consortium (formerly Holcim South Africa) and Natal Portland Cement Cimpor (NPC) were raided by the Competition Commission. The search was conducted in five Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal locations simultaneously.
An investigation into PPC started in June 2008. It concerned price-fixing arrangements, exclusive agreements and an abuse of dominance.
According to Mokoena, "the steep increase in cement prices alerted the commission to possible anti-competitive practices".
"We will be very grateful if this investigation leads to better pricing in the industry," said Andries van Heerden, CEO of construction materials manufacturer Afrimat.
Van Heerden told Fin24.com that in the last 24 months NPC's price increases had exceeded 50%. "Cement is our second largest cost item after labour," he said.
Overseas probes
According to the commission, the producer prices of cement in South Africa have been increasing in tandem every six months, at levels far outstripping the producer price index (PPI).
It said producers have implemented increases of about 6% on average (12% per annum) and an even higher increase in February 2009 in factory-gate, or producer, prices.
The companies raided on Wednesday are also under investigation by competition authorities in Germany, the European Union and Egypt.
Commissioner Shan Ramburuth said: "During the search we seized documentation and electronic data, which we will now evaluate as part of our investigation. Should we find that the firms have engaged in anticompetitive conduct, we will prosecute them for breaking the law."
According to the commission, 25% of corporate leniency applications made in the previous financial year came from the construction industry.
On Thursday morning, PPC Cement was trading at 2 831, down 3.81%.
- Fin24.com