Since the beginning of this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation has carried out special anti-monopoly law enforcement actions in the field of people's livelihood, focusing on investigating and dealing with a number of outstanding monopoly issues that have been strongly reflected by the people, forming a strong deterrent to illegal activities. On September 12, the State Administration for Market Regulation released the second batch of typical cases of the special anti-monopoly enforcement action in the field of people's livelihood.
[Case 1] In July 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation interviewed four pig breeding companies in accordance with the law to prevent monopoly risks. This is the first time that the State Administration for Market Regulation has publicly expressed concerns about competition in the labor market, promoting business entities to enhance their awareness of anti-monopoly compliance, and promoting the reasonable, smooth and orderly flow of labor elements and the healthy and sustainable development of industry standards.
On June 20, 2023, four companies, Muyuan Food Co., Ltd., Wen’s Food Group Co., Ltd., Twins (Group) Co., Ltd., and Chia Tai Investment Co., Ltd., signed a non-poaching pact as sponsors. , including content such as not poaching people or causing trouble. On July 31, the State Administration for Market Regulation interviewed the above four pig breeding companies and required them to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate the harmful consequences of their behavior, improve the construction of compliance systems, and effectively enhance anti-monopoly compliance awareness and capabilities. On the same day, the four companies issued a joint statement, sincerely accepting the problems pointed out by the State Administration for Market Regulation, immediately rectifying them, revoking the pact not to poach each other, and supporting the free flow of talents.
[Case 2] In September 2023, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision investigated and dealt with the case of the Beijing Go Association organizing member units to reach and implement a monopoly agreement in accordance with the law, ordering the Beijing Go Association and eight member units to stop illegal activities, and punished the Beijing Go Association The Go Association imposed a fine of 50,000 yuan, and a total fine of 2% of sales in 2021 was imposed on eight member units, totaling 116,000 yuan. In this case, the actions of the Beijing Go Association and eight member units promoted the increase in service fees and certificate service fees for amateur Go and ranked tournaments in Beijing, excluding and limiting the service market for amateur Go and ranked tournaments in Beijing. Competition increases the financial burden of participants and harms the interests of consumers.
[Case 3] Bottled liquefied gas is widely used as a living energy source in homes, restaurants and other places, and is closely related to residents' daily lives. In September 2023, the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the case of 10 bottled liquefied gas companies in Nanjing City reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement in accordance with the law, and ordered the parties to stop illegal activities. The 10 parties were fined and confiscated a total of 8.2735 million yuan. In this case, the companies involved fixed or changed commodity prices and divided the sales market, which hindered the normal functioning of the market price mechanism, eliminated and restricted market competition, and harmed the interests of consumers. The investigation and handling of this case maintained the competitive order of Nanjing's bottled liquefied gas market and protected the interests of Nanjing residents and catering operators to purchase bottled liquefied gas at market prices.
[Case 4] Xueping Insurance is a type of personal accident insurance. Insurance companies should compete fairly among themselves and strive for business through high-quality services and reasonable premium and insurance coverage conditions. In June 2023, the Hubei Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the case of four insurance companies in Ezhou City reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement in accordance with the law, ordering the parties to stop illegal activities, and fined and confiscated a total of 5.34 million yuan. In this case, the parties agreed to divide the market for public primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Ezhou City by agreeing that each school would obtain a certain amount of school insurance business, and fixed the price of the insurance. The investigation and handling of this case effectively protected the fair competition in the academic insurance market and safeguarded the interests of primary and secondary school students and the public interests of society.
[Case 5] The civilian explosive equipment industry is a high-risk industry involving production safety and public safety. In May 2023, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the case of the Hunan Explosive Equipment Industry Association organizing some member companies to reach a monopoly agreement in accordance with the law, ordered the parties involved to stop illegal activities, fined the Hunan Explosives Association 300,000 yuan, and fined 4 member companies. A total of 900,000 yuan was imposed, and the above fines totaled 1.2 million yuan. In this case, the parties signed a monopoly agreement to fix commodity prices and limit the sales quantity of commodities. The investigation and handling of the case protected fair competition in the civil explosive equipment 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 projects. In August 2023, the Guizhou Provincial Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the case of four building materials-related companies in Jinsha County reaching and implementing a monopoly agreement in accordance with the law, ordering the parties to stop illegal activities, and fined and confiscated a total of approximately 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, eliminated and restricted market competition, and directly damaged the user's right to freely negotiate transaction prices. The investigation and handling of the case maintained Jinsha County's ready-mixed concrete The fair competition order in the industry protects the interests of consumers and the public interests of society.
According to statistics from the State Administration for Market Regulation, since the launch of the special anti-monopoly law enforcement action in the field of people's livelihood in 2023, the market regulatory authorities have newly filed 15 cases of monopoly agreements and abuse of market dominance, with more than 90 cases in progress, and 16 cases have been completed and fined and confiscated The total amount of payments was approximately 641 million yuan; 13 cases of abuse of administrative power to eliminate or restrict competition were corrected, and 8 law enforcement interviews were conducted; 198 cases of concentration of operators in the field of people's livelihood were concluded.
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