China fines foreign shippers $63mn for price-fixing
China has decided to fine seven foreign shipping companies, including three Japanese firms, a total of 407 million yuan ($63 million) on charges of price-fixing as Beijing tightens state scrutiny of overseas companies.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which is the country’s top state planner and among several state agencies tasked with overseeing monopoly cases, issued a statement on Monday saying that the Japanese firms fined were "K" Line (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Eastern Car Liner, AFP reported.
Another Japanese shipping firm, NYK Line, was also implicated in the case but escaped a fine by cooperating, the statement added.
The NDRC levied the biggest individual fine amounting to 284 million yuan on South Korea's EUKOR Car Carriers while also punishing two Chilean companies and a Swedish-Norwegian venture.
The commission levied the fine after accusing the companies of mutually agreeing to raise shipping costs and using unfair means to set prices, mainly on marine routes that link China with North America, South America and Europe.
According to the commission’s statement, actions taken by the companies violated China's anti-monopoly law and "hurt the interests" of its importers and exporters.
The NDRC further noted that the companies have already acknowledged responsibility for their violation and apologized.
The case is continuation of sweeping investigations that the government in Beijing has launched into foreign firms operating in China in all sectors ranging from technology to automobile industry.
Back in February, US mobile chip titan, Qualcomm, said it was ready to pay nearly a billion dollars to end a long-running antitrust probe in China, in a case which has been perhaps the biggest fine ever levied by Beijing on a foreign firm.
In August last year the Chinese government levied a total of 1.24 billion yuan fine on 12 Japanese automobile parts manufacturing firms for price-fixing.
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