Related Articles
Top Stories
May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 27 2012 11:49
The country's 200 000-odd Tupperware agents are angry about the counterfeit products being sold as the real McCoy.
May 27 2012 11:05
As far as repayments on home loans are concerned, South Africans are in a much more favourable position than their foreign peers.
Johannesburg - Sasol (SOL), the world's largest fuel from coal producer, on Wednesday said it was "surprised" by and did not understand the reasons for the magnitude of the €318.3m (R3.7bn) fine imposed by the European Commission (EC).
The global petrochemical giant Sasol said it now plans to study the reasons for the finding "with a view to lodge an appeal against it".
Sasol's Hamburg-based wax division Sasol Wax GmbH was among nine companies fined a total of €676m (R7.9bn) by Europe's
antitrust watchdog for participating in a paraffin wax cartel and violating antitrust laws.
As a result of Sasol's cooperation and support in the investigations, the EC reduced the base amount of the fine by 50% to €318.2m.
While the fine was imposed on Sasol Wax GmbH, the company said Sasol Wax International AG, Sasol Holding in Germany GmbH and Sasol Limited would be jointly and severally be liable for €250m (R2.9bn).
The fine is payable within three months.
According to EC documents, Sasol has been fined the largest amount because it was found to be "the leader of the cartel".
Calling the cartel the "paraffin mafia", the European Union's
Competition Commission found that from 1992 to 2005, the producers of paraffin waxes and slack wax "operated a cartel in which they fixed prices for paraffin waxes".
Serious infringement
"ExxonMobil, MOL, Repsol, Sasol, Shell and Total also engaged in market allocation for this product and ExxonMobil, Sasol, Shell, RWE and Total also fixed prices for slack wax sold to end-customers on the German market," the EC said in its official notice of its findings.
It said the companies held regular meetings to discuss prices, allocate markets and/or customers and to exchange sensitive commercial information.
But Sasol argued that it only became a co-shareholder in an existing wax business located in Hamburg, Germany owned by the Schümann group in 1995.
In July 2002 Sasol acquired the remaining shares in the joint venture and became the sole shareholder of the business.
"Sasol Limited was unaware of these infringements before the European Commission commenced their investigation at the wax business in Hamburg in April 2005," Sasol said.
Nevertheless, the EC said the cartel constituted "a very serious infringement of EC Treaty antitrust rules".
Sasol said it has intensified its competition and anti-trust law compliance programmes in all its businesses including joint ventures.
- I-Net Bridge