China to target price fixing

BEIJING - China's leading price regulator will crack down on excessively high prices in six industries as it looks to further protect consumers, Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The industries include aviation, consumer goods, automobiles, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and home appliances, said Lu Yanchun, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The commission is in charge of the examination and regulation of price-related monopolistic practices.

Lu made the remarks at a training course on anti-price monopoly laws and regulations in Guangzhou, capital city of southern China's Guangdong province.

Lu said China has established an anti-monopoly legal system which contains an Anti-Monopoly Law, Regulations on Anti-Price Monopoly and Procedural Regulations on Administrative Enforcement of Anti-Price Monopoly.

He said anti-monopoly enforcement at both central and provincial levels would be strengthened.

In January, the NDRC imposed heavy fines on overseas companies after years of investigations. It levied 353 million yuan ($57.5 million) in fines against six liquid crystal display (LCD) producers, including Samsung, LG and four Taiwan firms, for their participation in a price fixing cartel agreement.

In August, the commission imposed fines totaling 670 million yuan against six baby formula companies operating on the Chinese mainland following an anti-trust probe.

The companies were Biostime, Mead Johnson, Dumex, Abbott, Friesland and Fonterra.