QUARTERLY COMPETITION CASE UPDATE – DECEMBER 2017
Julius Nyamwena and Pamela Mondliwa [1] Industrial Development Think Tank[2] On 1st July 2020, the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”) came into effect after being introduced in 2014. POPIA positions South Africa in the mainstream of relatively well-developed data protection laws, regulating the collection, processing, and sharing of personal information. These controls over the […]
EXCLUSIONARY ABUSE IN THE ROOIBOS LIMITED CASE
ABUSE OF DOMINANCE IN THE TEA MARKET FARISAI CHIN’ANGA The local rooibos market in South Africa comprises 8 large processing firms which account for approximately 90% of the market, with Rooibos Limited controlling 60% of the market. Similar to other processing firms, Rooibos Limited purchases large quantities of tea from commercial farmers and processes it into bulk […]
CARTELS INVESTIGATED IN SOUTH AFRICA: POSSIBLE IMPACT IN THE REGION?
TEBOHO BOSIU Most countries in Southern Africa are net importers of products from South Africa and are therefore likely to be subject to South African cartels. Imports from South Africa cut across sectors including food, capital equipment, construction materials, energy, plastics and chemical products. Moreover, regional markets are closely linked through the presence of South […]
HEINEKEN DEVELOPING A TASTE FOR LOCAL CRAFT BREWERS
INTERNATIONAL BREWER TOASTING THE LATEST ACQUISITION OF SOUTH AFRICAN CRAFT BEER MAKER JASON BELL One of the world’s largest brewing houses, Heineken, has taken a step towards a larger share of the South African beer market with the acquisition of the local black owned craft brewer, Soweto Gold, in October 2017. This development comes just […]
THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS CONDITIONS IN VERTICAL MERGERS: VEHICLE ASSEMBLY IN KENYA
RESTRICTING VERTICAL ARRANGEMENTS IN THE KENYAN VEHICLE INDUSTRY GRACE NSOMBA On 29 August 2017, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved with conditions the proposed acquisition of Associated Vehicle Assemblers Limited (AVA) by Simba Corporation Limited (Simba Corp). The approved merger sees the acquisition of an additional 50% of the shares in AVA which […]
EXCESSIVE PRICING IN THE GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
BIG PHARMA LEVERAGING THEIR DOMINANCE ON CONSUMERS SHINGIE CHISORO-DUBE In the developing world, disease and poverty are interdependent making access to essential medicines at affordable prices even more critical. 80% of the two billion people worldwide without access to essential medicines live in low income countries. As such, competitive rivalry in the pharmaceutical industry can improve […]