With the enforcement of Competition Order’s Anti-Competitive Agreements prohibition beginning January 1, Competition Commission Brunei Darussalam (CCBD) recorded an increase in businesses’ interests to learn about the order.

More than 55 members of Muara Maritime Services Sdn Bhd (MMS) attended an awareness dialogue session on the Competition Order facilitated by CCBD recently.

The dialogue session began with the CCBD Executive Secretariat giving an introduction on the concept and importance of competition in economic growth and the key prohibitions of the Competition Order.

It encourages businesses to compete for customers and buyers of goods and services that

will benefit from competitive prices and having more choice and better quality.

The presenter highlighted that competition results in open, dynamic markets, increased productivity, innovation and better value.

Representatives of Competition Commission Brunei Darussalam and Muara Maritime Services Sdn Bhd (MMS) in a group photo

MMS staff during the dialogue session

The session underscored key anti-competitive conducts prohibited under the order including the four serious – price fixing, market sharing, supply limitation and bid rigging.

The session shed light on the different forms of bid rigging including bid suppression, complementary bidding and bid rotation.

The Executive Secretariat highlighted that any suspicion of anti-competitive behaviour be reported to the CCBD by completing a formal complaint form with substantial evidence via email or through the CCBD website.

A dialogue discussing application of the law, business practices which are prevalent in the market such as sole distributorship arrangements, sub-contracting in projects and licensing issues concluded the event.