EU fines 7 firms nearly US$2b for price fixing
Source: Agencies |
December 6, 2012, Thursday
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THE European Union yesterday imposed its biggest ever cartel fine of almost 1.47 billion euros (US$1.96 billion) on seven companies for fixing the market of television and computer monitor tubes.
The EU's European Commission ruled that, for a decade ending in 2006, the companies - including Philips, LG Electronics and Panasonic - artificially set prices, shared markets and restricted their output at the expense of the consumer.
EU antitrust Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the companies' actions "feature all the worst kinds of anti-competitive behavior that are strictly forbidden to companies doing business in Europe."
Tubes were the essential part of television screens and computer monitors before they were replaced by flat screens. The cathode ray tubes accounted for up to 70 percent of the cost of a screen, according to the commission.
Alumina added that the tubes' cost gave "an indication of the serious harm" the companies had caused.
Philips and LG Electronics, which acted jointly and separately, were fined a combined 999 million eruos with Panasonic punished with a 157-million-euro fine, adding to more if combined fines and affiliates were included.
Other companies fined were Samsung SDI, Technicolor, MTPD and Toshiba. Taiwan-based Chunghwa escaped fines as it was the first to reveal the cartel to the EU.
"It is the biggest fine for a cartel, ever," Almunia said. The fine exceeded the previous record of the 2008 fine of 1.38 billion euros in a car glass cartel.
The EU's European Commission ruled that, for a decade ending in 2006, the companies - including Philips, LG Electronics and Panasonic - artificially set prices, shared markets and restricted their output at the expense of the consumer.
EU antitrust Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the companies' actions "feature all the worst kinds of anti-competitive behavior that are strictly forbidden to companies doing business in Europe."
Tubes were the essential part of television screens and computer monitors before they were replaced by flat screens. The cathode ray tubes accounted for up to 70 percent of the cost of a screen, according to the commission.
Alumina added that the tubes' cost gave "an indication of the serious harm" the companies had caused.
Philips and LG Electronics, which acted jointly and separately, were fined a combined 999 million eruos with Panasonic punished with a 157-million-euro fine, adding to more if combined fines and affiliates were included.
Other companies fined were Samsung SDI, Technicolor, MTPD and Toshiba. Taiwan-based Chunghwa escaped fines as it was the first to reveal the cartel to the EU.
"It is the biggest fine for a cartel, ever," Almunia said. The fine exceeded the previous record of the 2008 fine of 1.38 billion euros in a car glass cartel.
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