this year, the General Administration of Market Supervision has launched a special anti-monopoly law enforcement campaign in the field of people's livelihood, focusing on investigating and dealing with a number of prominent monopoly problems strongly reflected by the people, thus forming a powerful deterrent to illegal acts. On September 12, the General Administration of Market Supervision issued the second batch of typical cases of special anti-monopoly law enforcement actions in the field of people's livelihood.
[Case 1] In July 2023, the General Administration of Market Supervision interviewed four pig breeding enterprises in accordance with the law to prevent monopoly risks. This is the first time that the General Administration of Market Supervision has publicly expressed its concern about competition in the labor market, promoted business entities to enhance their awareness of anti-monopoly compliance, and promoted the rational, smooth and orderly flow of labor factors and the healthy and sustainable development of industry norms. On June 20,
2023, four enterprises, Muyuan Food Co., Ltd., Wenshi Food Group Co., Ltd., Twin (Group) Co., Ltd. and Zhengda Investment Co., Ltd., as sponsors, signed a convention on non-digging, including non-digging and non-dismantling. On July 31, the General Administration of Market Supervision interviewed the four pig breeding enterprises mentioned above, demanding that effective measures be taken immediately to eliminate the harmful consequences of their actions, improve the construction of compliance system, and effectively enhance the awareness and ability of anti-monopoly compliance. On the same day, the four enterprises issued a joint statement, sincerely accepting the problems pointed out in the interview with the General Administration of Market Supervision, immediately rectifying, revoking the convention of non-digging, and supporting the free flow of talents.
[Case 2] In September 2023, the Beijing Municipal Market Regulatory Bureau investigated and punished the Beijing Weiqi Association for organizing member units to reach and implement monopoly agreements, ordered the Beijing Weiqi Association and eight member units to stop illegal activities, imposed a fine of 50000 yuan on the Beijing Weiqi Association, and imposed a fine of 50000 yuan on the Beijing Weiqi Association. Eight member units were fined 2% of their annual sales in 2021, totaling 116000 yuan. In this case, the actions of Beijing Weiqi Association and eight member units have promoted the increase of service fees and certificate service fees for Beijing Weiqi amateur and class competitions, excluded and restricted the competition in the service market of Beijing Weiqi amateur and class competitions, increased the economic burden of participants and damaged the interests of consumers.
[Case 3] As a kind of living energy, bottled liquefied gas is widely used in families, restaurants and other places, which is closely related to the daily life of residents. In September 2023, the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and punished 10 bottled liquefied gas enterprises in Nanjing according to law to reach and implement a monopoly agreement, ordering the parties to stop their illegal activities, with a total fine of 8.2735 million yuan. In this case, the behavior of the enterprises involved in fixing or changing commodity prices and dividing the sales market hinders the normal functioning of the market price mechanism, excludes and restricts market competition, and damages the interests of consumers. The investigation and punishment of this case has maintained the competition order of the bottled liquefied gas market in Nanjing, and guaranteed the interests of Nanjing residents and catering operators in choosing to buy bottled liquefied gas at market prices.
[Case 4] School insurance is a kind of personal accident insurance. Insurance companies should compete fairly and strive for business through high-quality services and reasonable premium conditions. In June 2023, the Hubei Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and punished four insurance companies in Ezhou City for reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement, ordering the parties to stop their illegal activities and imposing a total fine of 5.34 million yuan. In this case, the parties divided the school insurance market of public primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Ezhou City by agreeing to obtain a number of school insurance business, and fixed the school insurance price. The investigation and punishment of this case has effectively protected the fair competition in the school insurance market and safeguarded the interests of primary and secondary school students and the public interest.
[Case 5] Civil explosive materials industry is a high-risk industry, involving production safety and public safety. In May 2023, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and punished some member enterprises of Hunan Blasting Materials Industry Association to reach a monopoly agreement, ordered the parties to stop their illegal activities, imposed a fine of 300000 yuan on Hunan Blasting Association, imposed a total fine of 900000 yuan on four member enterprises, and the total amount of the above fines was 1.2 million yuan. In this case, the parties signed a monopoly agreement to fix the price of commodities and limit the quantity of commodities sold. The investigation and punishment of the case protected the fair competition in the market of civil explosive materials industry in Hunan Province, and safeguarded the interests of relevant operators and social public interests.
[Case 6] Ready-mixed concrete is an important basic raw material in construction engineering. In August 2023, Guizhou Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and punished four building materials related enterprises in Jinsha County according to law to reach and implement a monopoly agreement, ordering the parties to stop their illegal activities, with a total fine of about 6.0082 million yuan. In this case, the parties fixed or changed commodity prices and divided the sales market, which hindered the normal functioning of the market price mechanism, excluded and restricted market competition, and directly damaged the right of users to freely negotiate transaction prices. The investigation of the case maintained the fair competition order of the ready-mixed concrete industry in Jinsha County, and protected the interests of consumers and the public.
According to the statistics of the General Administration of Market Supervision, since the special action of anti-monopoly law enforcement in the field of people's livelihood was launched in 2023, the market supervision department has filed 15 new cases of monopoly agreements and abuse of market dominance, handled more than 90 cases and settled 16 cases, with a total fine of about 641 million yuan; Thirteen cases of abuse of administrative power to eliminate or restrict competition were corrected, eight cases of law enforcement interviews were conducted, and 198 cases of concentration of operators in the field of people's livelihood were concluded.
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