Biznews

AMCU

Applications for prior merger clearance changed

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has incorporated changes to the procedure for filing applications for prior merger clearance of economic entities.

From the present time, the period for consideration of an application for merger clearance from the time the application has been submitted to the time the decision was passed, would be only 180 days (except for the cases when an applicant filed a written motion for extending the time limit for furnishing information). The order came into effect from 2 October 2015.

The State Aviation Service was given binding recommendations

The AMCU has accepted the decision that the State Aviation Service of Ukraine should draft and approve a regulatory act, which has to establish clear, transparent, appropriate and objective criteria of access of economic entities, on non-discriminatory conditions on a competitive basis, to the markets of ground servicing in airports. Providing free access to the mentioned services will help to reduce the operating costs of airline companies and upgrade the quality of services rendered to airport users, and significant reduction of operating costs will create objective pre-requisites for reducing the cost of air tickets for passengers.

Antitrust

 Suppliers of optical disc drives fined for cartel

The European Commission has fined eight optical disc drive suppliers a total of EUR 116 million for having coordinated their behavior in relation to procurement tenders organized by two computer manufacturers, in breach of EU antitrust rules.

The anticompetitive conduct subject to fines in this case relates to agreements to collude in procurement tenders for Optical disc drives (ODDs) for laptops and desktops produced by Dell and Hewlett Packard (HP).

The eight suppliers engaged in the illegal practices covered by this decision are Philips, Lite-On, their joint venture Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions, Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology, Sony, Sony Optiarc and Quanta Storage.

The investigation revealed that between June 2004 and November 2008, the companies participating in the cartel communicated to each other their intentions regarding bidding strategies, shared the results of procurement tenders and exchanged other commercially sensitive information about ODDs used in laptops and desktops. They organized a network of parallel bilateral contacts that pursued a single plan to avoid aggressive competition in procurement tenders organized by Dell and HP.

Although the cartel contacts took place outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), they were implemented on a worldwide basis. Of the companies involved in the cartel, only Philips is headquartered in Europe. The remaining seven are headquartered in Asia. The duration of each company’s involvement in the cartel varied and ranged from less than a year to over four years.

The fines were set on the basis of the Commission’s 2006 Guidelines on fines. In setting the level of fines, the Commission took into account, amongst other things, the companies’ sales of the products at issue in the EEA, the serious nature of the infringement, its geographic scope and duration. The fines achieve an appropriate level of deterrence while remaining proportional to the infringement.

Under the Commission’s 2006 Leniency Notice, Philips, Lite-On and their joint venture Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions received full immunity from fines as they were the first to reveal the existence of the cartel, thereby avoiding an aggregate fine of EUR 63.5 million. Hitachi-LG Data Storage received a 50% reduction of the fine for cooperating in the investigation under the Commission’s leniency program and partial immunity for enabling the Commission to establish a longer duration of the cartel.

In setting the fines, the Commission also took account of the fact that Philips, Sony and Sony Optiarc took part in the cartel behaviour only with regard to procurement tenders organized by Dell.

IT/Telecommunications

Ingenico Group and Intel to speed up deployment of securely connected devices

Ingenico Group has announced it will be advancing collaboration with Intel in creating a secure connectivity path for retailers from the cash register to the payment terminal called end-to-end. The Group has carried out the first implementation of the Intel® Data Protection Technology for Transactions solution into Ingenico mobile POS.

Intel® DPT for Transactions is designed to secure both financial and consumer data from the moment a transaction is initiated. Combining the Ingenico mobile solution and the mobile tablet ensures delivery of a strong connectivity channel between the cash register and the payment terminal and prevents security breaches.

Banking & Finance

Naftogaz signed credit agreement with the EBRD for USD 300 million

NJSC Naftogaz Ukraine has signed a credit agreement for the sum of USD 300 million with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

On 30 September the EBRD decided to allocate NJSC Naftogaz Ukraine USD 300 million in the form of a revolving credit for the purchase of gas from European companies. One of the conditions for granting funds was the adoption of the plan of corporate governance reforming of NJSC Naftogaz Ukraine, which provides, inter alia, the creation of a broad Supervisory Board of Directors, which will include representatives of the government as well as international organizations that allocate credits to Ukraine.

Ban on use and circulation of virtual currency/cryptocurrency

The State Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets of Ukraine has informed participants about the prohibition of use and circulation of virtual currency/cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, OneCoin, etc.) in Ukraine.

The National Bank of Ukraine has mentioned with regard to virtual currency/cryptocurrency Bitcoin as quasi-money, which is not backed up with real value and cannot be used by individuals and legal entities on the territory as a payment instrument, as it contradicts provisions of Ukrainian legislation.

The European Banking Authority called on European Community banks to abstain from transactions with cryptocurrencies, since their value is not supported and they are not controlled by the state regulators of any country, until the system of regulation is created, in order to prevent abuse and legalisation (laundering) of illegally gained income and financing of terrorism.

The State Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets of Ukraine is warning financial institutions and financial service intermediaries to abstain from transactions with cryptocurrencies and from holding cryptocurrencies, due to the risk of loss of funds used in the transaction.