During a workshop held in the Asharqia Chamber on Thursday:
The General Authority for Competition: Competition laws contribute to encouraging innovation, development and growth
An official at the General Authority for Competition said that the authority is independent and concerned with supervising the implementation of the competition law, which specifically aims to promote and encourage fair competition and combat monopolistic practices that affect legitimate competition.
In the Asharqia Chamber workshop on Thursday, August 18, 2022, in cooperation with the General Authority for Competition, in the presence of representatives of the business sector, the director of legal affairs at the authority, Hammoud Al-Otaibi, touched on several issues related to the system, and talked about the types of monopolistic practices that may occur in the market, or have previously occurred and initiated Commission.
Regarding violations of the competition law, Al-Otaibi mentioned that the prohibitions fall under three types, first, the agreement between the competitors and its multiple forms, second, the misuse of the dominant position, and he cautioned that dominance in itself is not a violation, but it puts the facility in a position that facilitates the breaching practices, and thirdly the failure to Reporting to the Authority about economic concentration operations. He also noted that failure to cooperate with investigators and inspectors when considering the status of the facility is considered an additional violation.
Al Otaibi called for participation in the compliance program offered by the Authority to enable enterprises to know and avoid competition irregularities in all layers of the institution, urging the business sector to visit the website of the Authority and see the sustainability programs provided, noting the importance of the sustainability of enterprises and their role in increasing economic participation.
During the workshop, Al-Otaibi stated that competition laws often contribute to encouraging innovation, development, and growth, and limit the harmful effects of monopoly on the economic and social system, and thus result in achieving consumer welfare by stimulating creativity and dedication to providing goods and services at competitive prices and high quality, as a result of the competitive environment. Attracting investments, as it enables all establishments, especially small and medium enterprises, to participate in various economic activities, distribute economic resources, achieve competitive prices and quality, and thus provide continuous development for economic activities, in line with the vision of the wise leadership of the local economy and markets.
