Hong Kong watchdog to propose criminalising bid-rigging as early as September

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog aims to submit proposals to criminalise bid-rigging as early as September, paving the way for the government to table legislative amendments by the end of the year, following the city’s deadliest fire in decades.

Senior Counsel Jat Sew-tong, who assumed the role of chairman of the Competition Commission last month, said on Friday that the watchdog would also launch a study into the city’s auto fuel market amid a surge in prices. The market has faced long-standing allegations of price-fixing.

In a report submitted to the independent committee investigating last November’s Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people and displaced 5,000 residents, the commission endorsed criminalising bid-rigging following alleged malpractice in the HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation tender at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court.

The commission said it was considering a “dual-track” legal framework, comprising both civil and criminal regimes, an approach adopted by other jurisdictions and supported by the Bar Association.

During his first media briefing, Jat said the commission had been working closely with the government and the Bar Association to review the Competition Ordinance and devise measures to combat bid-rigging, including criminalisation and higher civil penalties.

Without providing further details, he said the commission hoped to put forward its proposals in September or October, coinciding with the release of the judge-led committee’s investigation report, with the aim of having the government submit an amendment bill to the legislature this year.