Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥) and 17 other firms have been fined a combined NT$213 million (US$7 million) for forming a ready-mix concrete price-fixing cartel, the Fair Trade Commission said on Saturday.
From as early as November 2018, Taiwan Cement, Goldsun Building Materials Co (國產建材), Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Co (亞東預拌混凝土) and 15 Taoyuan-based companies colluded via regular in-person meetings and messaging apps to coordinate pricing and control markets, the commission said.
After reviewing the case on Wednesday, the commission imposed fines of NT$50 million each on Taiwan Cement and Goldsun, and NT$30 million on Ya Tung.
Photo: CNA
The 15 other companies each received fines ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$10 million.
Forming a cartel enabled the firms to control supplies of ready-mix concrete and drive up prices, which subsequently increased construction costs, the commission said.
The cartel had been colluding to fix prices up to the present day, Commission Vice Chairman Andy Chen (陳志民) said, adding that an investigation was launched after a lawmaker raised the issue in November 2018.
Responding to the decision on Saturday, Taiwan Cement and Goldsun denied that they were involved in the cartel, and said that they had fully cooperated with the commission during its investigation.
The two companies said they were surprised by the ruling and would appeal the fines at an administrative court.
“TCC’s ready-mix concrete quality and price have been considered to be the best in the industry with strong trust from clients. TCC has no need and did not engage in concerted action with peers,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Meanwhile, Ya Tung said the company had earned a reputation for fair business practices, adding that it would also consider appealing to an administrative court.
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