The Competition Superintendence (CS) reported on its activities in 2012, including detecting abuse of dominance by a sugar distributor, issuing recommendations to improve competition in rice, and conducting consumer education campaigns. The CS reviewed four merger requests, approving three with conditions and denying one. It also conducted studies on rice and will study air transport and edible oils in 2013.
In 2009, the Competition Superintendence (CS) sanctioned 8 economic agents with fines
amounting more than 50 thousand dollars, authorized 1 merger, carried out 3 sector studies
on competition conditions, and issued over 30 public policy recommendations to improve
and promote competition conditions in the country, increase economic efficiency as well as
consumer welfare.
This document provides information about Comenius grants which allow teachers to take educational trips throughout Europe. Some key details include:
- Comenius grants support 1-6 week educational trips for preschool, primary, secondary, and vocational teachers to improve their skills and understanding of European schooling.
- Teachers can browse courses in the Comenius-Grundtvig database and apply through their national agency, securing approval from their school. If accepted, they will participate in lessons and guided tours to important sites in the host country.
- The grants are described as an excellent learning experience, allowing teachers to grow professionally while also enjoying cultural experiences and tourism during their trips abroad.
The preparation of this presentation started in Colombia, July 2007.
The main purpose of this slideshow was to present our trip to Antanas Mockus organization Visionarios Por Colombia in Bogota (Colombia).
La necesidad de un ajuste integral ante una situación fiscal graveFUSADES
El país afronta una situación fiscal grave, pero es
manejable. En un plazo razonable, se debe llevar a cabo
un proceso de diálogo, con el objetivo de estructurar
un plan de mediano plazo para un ajuste integral y de
reformas y compromisos institucionales que mejoren las
perspectivas fiscales y el grado de certidumbre sobre el
clima de inversión.
Salvador Dalí fue un pintor surrealista español nacido en 1904 y fallecido en 1989. Es conocido por sus obras extrañas y oníricas que exploran el subconsciente, como "La persistencia de la memoria" de 1931 que incluye relojes derretidos. Dalí produjo una gran variedad de pinturas, esculturas, dibujos y filmes durante su larga carrera que desafiaron las convenciones y ampliaron los límites del arte.
Comunicado de Prensa: Informe de Coyuntura Económica II trimestre de 2014FUSADES
El documento resume la situación económica de El Salvador en el segundo trimestre de 2014. La agricultura se vio afectada por pérdidas debido a la roya del café y la sequía, lo que aumentó los precios de los alimentos básicos. Los indicadores económicos como las ventas minoristas, el consumo de energía y la inversión privada muestran un debilitamiento de la actividad. Además, las finanzas públicas continúan deteriorándose con mayores déficits fiscales y deuda pública, y la reciente reforma tributaria es
In 2009, the Competition Superintendence (CS) sanctioned 8 economic agents with fines
amounting more than 50 thousand dollars, authorized 1 merger, carried out 3 sector studies
on competition conditions, and issued over 30 public policy recommendations to improve
and promote competition conditions in the country, increase economic efficiency as well as
consumer welfare.
This document provides information about Comenius grants which allow teachers to take educational trips throughout Europe. Some key details include:
- Comenius grants support 1-6 week educational trips for preschool, primary, secondary, and vocational teachers to improve their skills and understanding of European schooling.
- Teachers can browse courses in the Comenius-Grundtvig database and apply through their national agency, securing approval from their school. If accepted, they will participate in lessons and guided tours to important sites in the host country.
- The grants are described as an excellent learning experience, allowing teachers to grow professionally while also enjoying cultural experiences and tourism during their trips abroad.
The preparation of this presentation started in Colombia, July 2007.
The main purpose of this slideshow was to present our trip to Antanas Mockus organization Visionarios Por Colombia in Bogota (Colombia).
La necesidad de un ajuste integral ante una situación fiscal graveFUSADES
El país afronta una situación fiscal grave, pero es
manejable. En un plazo razonable, se debe llevar a cabo
un proceso de diálogo, con el objetivo de estructurar
un plan de mediano plazo para un ajuste integral y de
reformas y compromisos institucionales que mejoren las
perspectivas fiscales y el grado de certidumbre sobre el
clima de inversión.
Salvador Dalí fue un pintor surrealista español nacido en 1904 y fallecido en 1989. Es conocido por sus obras extrañas y oníricas que exploran el subconsciente, como "La persistencia de la memoria" de 1931 que incluye relojes derretidos. Dalí produjo una gran variedad de pinturas, esculturas, dibujos y filmes durante su larga carrera que desafiaron las convenciones y ampliaron los límites del arte.
Comunicado de Prensa: Informe de Coyuntura Económica II trimestre de 2014FUSADES
El documento resume la situación económica de El Salvador en el segundo trimestre de 2014. La agricultura se vio afectada por pérdidas debido a la roya del café y la sequía, lo que aumentó los precios de los alimentos básicos. Los indicadores económicos como las ventas minoristas, el consumo de energía y la inversión privada muestran un debilitamiento de la actividad. Además, las finanzas públicas continúan deteriorándose con mayores déficits fiscales y deuda pública, y la reciente reforma tributaria es
The Competition Superintendence (CS) publicly rendered accounts of its work from June 2011 to May 2012. During this period, the CS analyzed 10 anticompetitive cases, including investigations into abuse of dominance by DIZUCAR and agreements between CLARO, TELEFONICA, DIGICEL, and RED. The CS also analyzed 16 merger requests and issued 41 recommendations to 10 government institutions. Despite limited resources, the CS has made efforts to promote competition, protect consumers, and achieve its strategic goals. However, scarce personnel and a low budget, as well as lack of attention to recommendations, remain difficulties for the CS.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador announced its 2012 Competition Week to be held from October 8th to 12th. The week will feature various events to promote competition, including launching a toolkit on competition in public procurement and subscribing a cooperation agreement between the CS and consumer associations. It will also include discussions on enforcing competition laws in small economies and releasing competition studies on the rice and sugar industries in El Salvador. The goal is to get the CS closer to the population and favor more competitive conditions in key economic sectors to the benefit of consumers.
The Competition Superintendence of El Salvador identified barriers to competition in the rice and sugar industries that harm consumers. For sugar, the CS fined a company for anti-competitive practices and ordered it to cease discriminatory pricing. In rice, entry barriers favor incumbent firms and costs consumers an estimated $1.46 million annually. The CS recommended reforms to laws governing both industries to eliminate barriers and promote competition.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador launched a new toolkit called "Competition and Public Procurement" to promote competition in public procurement processes. The toolkit aims to train procurement offices to prevent bid rigging, where competitors secretly agree on bids to manipulate the procurement process. Bid rigging can increase prices by up to 20% and harm both the state and taxpayers. The CS hopes the toolkit will support institutions in applying competition principles and detecting collusion early. Over 100 procurement managers attended the launch event to learn about adopting competition in tenders and identifying bid rigging from CS cases.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador jointly with the Regulatory Unit for Public Procurement carried out a training program for over 100 public procurement officials. The goal was to help officials identify barriers to accessing public procurement processes and detect bid rigging. Bid rigging involves competitors manipulating bids to determine the winner, increasing costs for the state. The training taught techniques to enforce the Competition and Public Procurement Manual and identify signs of bid rigging. This program aims to promote cooperation between procurement officials and the CS to apply competition law and policy.
03 15 marzo 2013 - cs trains public procurement officers in detecting antic...Alicia de Bettaglio
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador jointly with the Regulatory Unit for Public Procurement carried out a training program for over 100 public procurement officials. The goal was to help officials identify barriers to accessing public procurement processes and detect bid rigging. Bid rigging involves competitors manipulating bids to determine the winner, increasing costs for the state. The training taught techniques to enforce the Competition and Public Procurement Manual and identify signs of bid rigging. This program aims to promote cooperation between procurement officials and the CS to apply competition law and policy.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador is carrying out workshops with Public Procurement Offices (PPO) to train them in preventing and detecting anticompetitive agreements among competitors in public tenders. The CS has selected representative PPOs, starting with the public health sector, training procurement officers from eight national hospitals. During the workshops, topics discussed include what anticompetitive agreements among bidders are, how PPO officers can help detect such agreements, and how to design tender documents to decrease the possibility of such agreements. Bid rigging refers to agreements where bidders fraudulently manipulate bids, harming competition and resulting in more expensive, lower quality goods and services for
The Board of Directors (BD) of the Competition Superintendence (CS) authorized the acquisition of the insurance company Aseguradora Suiza Salvadoreña, S. A. by Seguros Suramericana, S. A. Pursuant to the analysis carried out, the CS issued important orders and recommendations to improve competition in the identified relevant markets.
This newsletter includes brief reports about the initiatives taking place within the OECD-Korea Policy Centre Competition Programme. It includes overviews of meetings held by the OECD in Paris and provides an opportunity for participating economies from the Asia-Pacific region to exchange their latest experiences on competition law and policy issues.
News, case studies and articles from Asian-Pacific competition authorities are welcome. If you have material that you wish to be considered for publication in this newsletter, please contact ajahn@oecdkorea.org.
This document is a legal guide to doing business in Colombia that was prepared in March 2019. It provides an overview of Colombia's economy and investment climate. The guide contains 12 chapters that cover various legal topics important for foreign investors, such as foreign investment protection, tax regulations, trade policies, and intellectual property laws. It aims to inform investors of the main legal considerations for conducting business operations in Colombia.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador met with consumer associations to explain the benefits of competition. [1] The CS signed an agreement with the National Association for the Protection of Consumer Rights to train member associations on competition issues. [2] A guest lecturer from Costa Rica's consumer protection organization discussed how promoting competition has benefited consumers through lower prices and more choices. [3] The CS hopes to strengthen communication with consumer groups to further promote competition for economic efficiency and consumer welfare.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) will launch reports summarizing its competition studies from 2006-2010 in 12 key sectors of El Salvador's economy. The reports contain analyses of market conditions, regulations, and 72 policy recommendations to improve competition. The CS has worked with industry participants and regulators on the studies and will distribute the reports to promote further competition. Ongoing studies examine sectors like steel, banking, and food oils.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador launched a program called "Compete to win" to educate over 2,500 small and medium businesses in the country's major commercial malls about competition and prohibited anticompetitive practices. The program will directly inform owners of various retail and food businesses on how competition encourages innovation and growth when combined with compliance of the Salvadoran Competition Law (CL). While the CL is often seen as applying only to large companies, it actually defines any public or private enterprise as an "economic agent" subject to its rules. The program is part of the CS's strategic communications activities for 2013 to promote a culture of competition according to its mandate from the CL.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador, with cooperation from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), began a training program for over 100 public procurement officers to prevent anticompetitive practices in government purchases. The program teaches techniques for detecting bid rigging in public procurement processes. Bid rigging illegally manipulates bids to determine who wins a contract. The training aims to help procurement officers identify and prevent this prohibited behavior. It will discuss bid rigging, challenges in detecting it in El Salvador, and international experiences. Support from UNCTAD and the Swiss government helps provide El Salvador with competition policy tools to increase consumer welfare.
This document discusses cartel enforcement in Spain, specifically related to bid rigging cases. It notes that since 2009, 19 of 77 fined cartels were related to bid rigging, helped by the leniency program. Bid rigging is considered a hard-core cartel under Spanish law. The CNMC (competition authority) advocates to procurement bodies and provides training on competition law. A 2019 case fined 15 companies and 14 executives for bid rigging affecting rail electrification tenders. Sanctions for individuals can be up to 60,000 euros. Exclusion from public contracts is limited to 3 years except for leniency applicants. Compliance programs are not directly mentioned in law but are discussed in guidelines to help prevent infringements.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador has initiated an investigation into the wheat flour production and distribution market based on complaints filed by two companies, MOLSA and GUMARSAL, alleging anticompetitive practices. The CS previously sanctioned MOLSA and another company HARISA in 2008 for allocating the wheat flour market. Though the current complaints were found to have deficiencies, the CS will use information from the prior sanctioning to investigate the wheat flour market ex-officio for possible anticompetitive practices.
- Significant payments of $25,000 or more made by clinical trial sponsors to investigators/institutions must be disclosed under FDA regulations. The intent is to disclose compensation that could influence study outcomes.
- Ten Canadian pharmaceutical companies have agreed to annually disclose total payments made to doctors and medical associations starting in 2017.
- The first reporting period for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations' transparency disclosures closed on June 30, 2016. Several member countries have made or plan to make changes to disclosure requirements.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) publicly rendered accounts of its work from June 2011 to May 2012. During this period, the CS analyzed 10 anticompetitive cases, including investigations into abuse of dominance by DIZUCAR and agreements between CLARO, TELEFONICA, DIGICEL, and RED. The CS also analyzed 16 merger requests and issued 41 recommendations to 10 government institutions. Despite limited resources, the CS has made efforts to promote competition, protect consumers, and achieve its strategic goals. However, scarce personnel and a low budget, as well as lack of attention to recommendations, remain difficulties for the CS.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador announced its 2012 Competition Week to be held from October 8th to 12th. The week will feature various events to promote competition, including launching a toolkit on competition in public procurement and subscribing a cooperation agreement between the CS and consumer associations. It will also include discussions on enforcing competition laws in small economies and releasing competition studies on the rice and sugar industries in El Salvador. The goal is to get the CS closer to the population and favor more competitive conditions in key economic sectors to the benefit of consumers.
The Competition Superintendence of El Salvador identified barriers to competition in the rice and sugar industries that harm consumers. For sugar, the CS fined a company for anti-competitive practices and ordered it to cease discriminatory pricing. In rice, entry barriers favor incumbent firms and costs consumers an estimated $1.46 million annually. The CS recommended reforms to laws governing both industries to eliminate barriers and promote competition.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador launched a new toolkit called "Competition and Public Procurement" to promote competition in public procurement processes. The toolkit aims to train procurement offices to prevent bid rigging, where competitors secretly agree on bids to manipulate the procurement process. Bid rigging can increase prices by up to 20% and harm both the state and taxpayers. The CS hopes the toolkit will support institutions in applying competition principles and detecting collusion early. Over 100 procurement managers attended the launch event to learn about adopting competition in tenders and identifying bid rigging from CS cases.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador jointly with the Regulatory Unit for Public Procurement carried out a training program for over 100 public procurement officials. The goal was to help officials identify barriers to accessing public procurement processes and detect bid rigging. Bid rigging involves competitors manipulating bids to determine the winner, increasing costs for the state. The training taught techniques to enforce the Competition and Public Procurement Manual and identify signs of bid rigging. This program aims to promote cooperation between procurement officials and the CS to apply competition law and policy.
03 15 marzo 2013 - cs trains public procurement officers in detecting antic...Alicia de Bettaglio
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador jointly with the Regulatory Unit for Public Procurement carried out a training program for over 100 public procurement officials. The goal was to help officials identify barriers to accessing public procurement processes and detect bid rigging. Bid rigging involves competitors manipulating bids to determine the winner, increasing costs for the state. The training taught techniques to enforce the Competition and Public Procurement Manual and identify signs of bid rigging. This program aims to promote cooperation between procurement officials and the CS to apply competition law and policy.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador is carrying out workshops with Public Procurement Offices (PPO) to train them in preventing and detecting anticompetitive agreements among competitors in public tenders. The CS has selected representative PPOs, starting with the public health sector, training procurement officers from eight national hospitals. During the workshops, topics discussed include what anticompetitive agreements among bidders are, how PPO officers can help detect such agreements, and how to design tender documents to decrease the possibility of such agreements. Bid rigging refers to agreements where bidders fraudulently manipulate bids, harming competition and resulting in more expensive, lower quality goods and services for
The Board of Directors (BD) of the Competition Superintendence (CS) authorized the acquisition of the insurance company Aseguradora Suiza Salvadoreña, S. A. by Seguros Suramericana, S. A. Pursuant to the analysis carried out, the CS issued important orders and recommendations to improve competition in the identified relevant markets.
This newsletter includes brief reports about the initiatives taking place within the OECD-Korea Policy Centre Competition Programme. It includes overviews of meetings held by the OECD in Paris and provides an opportunity for participating economies from the Asia-Pacific region to exchange their latest experiences on competition law and policy issues.
News, case studies and articles from Asian-Pacific competition authorities are welcome. If you have material that you wish to be considered for publication in this newsletter, please contact ajahn@oecdkorea.org.
This document is a legal guide to doing business in Colombia that was prepared in March 2019. It provides an overview of Colombia's economy and investment climate. The guide contains 12 chapters that cover various legal topics important for foreign investors, such as foreign investment protection, tax regulations, trade policies, and intellectual property laws. It aims to inform investors of the main legal considerations for conducting business operations in Colombia.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador met with consumer associations to explain the benefits of competition. [1] The CS signed an agreement with the National Association for the Protection of Consumer Rights to train member associations on competition issues. [2] A guest lecturer from Costa Rica's consumer protection organization discussed how promoting competition has benefited consumers through lower prices and more choices. [3] The CS hopes to strengthen communication with consumer groups to further promote competition for economic efficiency and consumer welfare.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) will launch reports summarizing its competition studies from 2006-2010 in 12 key sectors of El Salvador's economy. The reports contain analyses of market conditions, regulations, and 72 policy recommendations to improve competition. The CS has worked with industry participants and regulators on the studies and will distribute the reports to promote further competition. Ongoing studies examine sectors like steel, banking, and food oils.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador launched a program called "Compete to win" to educate over 2,500 small and medium businesses in the country's major commercial malls about competition and prohibited anticompetitive practices. The program will directly inform owners of various retail and food businesses on how competition encourages innovation and growth when combined with compliance of the Salvadoran Competition Law (CL). While the CL is often seen as applying only to large companies, it actually defines any public or private enterprise as an "economic agent" subject to its rules. The program is part of the CS's strategic communications activities for 2013 to promote a culture of competition according to its mandate from the CL.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) of El Salvador, with cooperation from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), began a training program for over 100 public procurement officers to prevent anticompetitive practices in government purchases. The program teaches techniques for detecting bid rigging in public procurement processes. Bid rigging illegally manipulates bids to determine who wins a contract. The training aims to help procurement officers identify and prevent this prohibited behavior. It will discuss bid rigging, challenges in detecting it in El Salvador, and international experiences. Support from UNCTAD and the Swiss government helps provide El Salvador with competition policy tools to increase consumer welfare.
This document discusses cartel enforcement in Spain, specifically related to bid rigging cases. It notes that since 2009, 19 of 77 fined cartels were related to bid rigging, helped by the leniency program. Bid rigging is considered a hard-core cartel under Spanish law. The CNMC (competition authority) advocates to procurement bodies and provides training on competition law. A 2019 case fined 15 companies and 14 executives for bid rigging affecting rail electrification tenders. Sanctions for individuals can be up to 60,000 euros. Exclusion from public contracts is limited to 3 years except for leniency applicants. Compliance programs are not directly mentioned in law but are discussed in guidelines to help prevent infringements.
The Competition Superintendence (CS) in El Salvador has initiated an investigation into the wheat flour production and distribution market based on complaints filed by two companies, MOLSA and GUMARSAL, alleging anticompetitive practices. The CS previously sanctioned MOLSA and another company HARISA in 2008 for allocating the wheat flour market. Though the current complaints were found to have deficiencies, the CS will use information from the prior sanctioning to investigate the wheat flour market ex-officio for possible anticompetitive practices.
- Significant payments of $25,000 or more made by clinical trial sponsors to investigators/institutions must be disclosed under FDA regulations. The intent is to disclose compensation that could influence study outcomes.
- Ten Canadian pharmaceutical companies have agreed to annually disclose total payments made to doctors and medical associations starting in 2017.
- The first reporting period for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations' transparency disclosures closed on June 30, 2016. Several member countries have made or plan to make changes to disclosure requirements.
Similar to 12 12 diciembre 2012 - cs reported 2012 results dic 12 13 14 2012 (20)
El Presidente de El Salvador juramentó a los miembros del Consejo Directivo de la Superintendencia de Competencia para un nuevo período de cinco años, asegurando la continuidad del trabajo de la institución. El Consejo Directivo está compuesto por el Superintendente Francisco Díaz Rodríguez y dos directores propietarios y tres directores suplentes, todos profesionales con experiencia en economía y derecho. La Superintendencia de Competencia celebró su décimo aniversario después de resolver 67 casos de prácticas anticompetit
Recomendaciones de política pública del estudio de condiciones de competencia en los servicios de telecomunicaciones en El Salvador: telefonía, internet y televisión por suscripción.
Resolución de aprobación del informe del estudio de las condiciones de competencia de televisión abierta en El Salvador y recomendaciones de política pública
A las puertas de celebrar sus 10 años, la Superintendencia de Competencia inicia este 2016 fomentando y garantizando la sana competencia en el sector de las telecomunicaciones. Retoma la investigación por actuaciones previas sobre la aplicación de la Contribución para Seguridad Ciudadana (CESC) por parte de las telefónicas, así como la remisión de recomendaciones de política pública derivadas del “Estudio de condiciones de competencia en la televisión abierta”, que promueven mejoras en las condiciones competitivas de este sector y ofrece aportes importantes para impulsar la competencia frente a la transición de televisión analógica a digital. Estas recomendaciones serán remitidas a la Asamblea Legislativa y a la Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones (SIGET).
Resolución de aprobación del informe y emisión de recomendaciones de políticas públicas en relación al estudio de las condiciones de competencia del sector marítimo portuario.
El Consejo Directivo de la Superintendencia de Competencia de El Salvador ratificó una sanción contra cinco operadores de telefonía por usar tácticas dilatorias para retrasar las negociaciones de interconexión con un competidor. La sanción ordena a los operadores abstenerse de estas prácticas para promover la competencia en el sector y beneficiar a los consumidores.
Resolución del recurso de revisión Denuncia de supuestas práctica anticompetitiva relacionada con la prestación de servicios comerciales de telecomunicaciones
La Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas y la Superintendencia de Competencia impartieron el primer curso sobre Derecho de Competencia en El Salvador, graduando a 38 profesionales. El curso buscó divulgar el conocimiento sobre competencia para fomentar un mercado eficiente y el bienestar de los consumidores. Las dos instituciones continuarán colaborando en actividades académicas para promover el Derecho de Competencia en el país.
La Superintendencia de Competencia presentó este día el “Estudio sobre las condiciones de competencia de la distribución minorista de productos de consumo periódico”, elaborado por el consultor chileno Eugenio Andrés Rivera Urrutia a solicitud de la autoridad de competencia, así como las recomendaciones de políticas públicas emitidas para optimizar la competencia en el sector.
La Superintendencia de Competencia inició de oficio, este día, actuaciones previas con el propósito de buscar indicios de posibles violaciones a la Ley de Competencia relacionadas con la coyuntura actual de la aplicación de la Contribución Especial para la Seguridad y
Convivencia (CESC).
The Superintendencia de Competencia (SC) is the agency that investigates and decides on cartel cases in El Salvador. Cartel participation is considered an administrative infringement. While hardcore cartels involving practices like price fixing are not specifically defined, agreements between competitors violate the Competition Law. The SC handles complaints made in writing and can initiate investigations itself or based on complaints regarding suspected cartel behavior. All complaints are reviewed but the SC has discretion around whether to take action in a particular case.
La Superintendencia de Competencia se encuentra desarrollando una semana de consultas sobre reformas a la Ley de Competencia: lunes 16 de noviembre: instituciones del Estado; martes 17: gremiales empresariales; y jueves 19: academia y generadores de opinión.
La Superintendencia de Competencia y la Unidad Normativa de Adquisiciones y Contrataciones del Ministerio de Hacienda impartieron una jornada de capacitación a funcionarios de Unidades de Adquisición y Compras Institucionales sobre competencia y compras públicas. El objetivo fue fomentar la incorporación de principios de competencia en las compras públicas y compartir experiencias internacionales para prevenir prácticas colusorias. La jornada brindó herramientas para el diseño de procesos de contratación competitivos y la detección de ofert
La Superintendencia de Competencia lanzó hoy la segunda fase de su aplicación digital “AppSC”, que presenta los estudios sobre condiciones de competencia y las recomendaciones que ha realizado la institución a partir de su creación (2006) a fin de promover la libre competencia.
Los cinco operadores de telefonía sancionados por abusar de su posición dominante presentaron recurso de revisión ante el Consejo Directivo de la Superintendencia de Competencia el pasado 4 de noviembre. Las telefónicas se manifestaron en contra de la decisión tomada y solicitan que se modifique o deje sin efecto todo lo resuelto.
1. Press Release C. 30-12
th
El Salvador, December 12 , 2012.
CS reported 2012 results
Commemorating the International Day of Competition, the Competition Superintendence (CS) reported
today its 2012 main results. Amongst the most significant, the CS detected and sanctioned the abuse of
dominance of a sugar distributor, issued important recommendations to improve the competition conditions
in the rice agro-industry, and carried out its first campaign to sensitize the general population on
competition. Furthermore, the CS reviewed four acquisition authorization requests, amongst them, the one
filed by PUMA to purchase ESSO and the one filed by CLARO to buy DIGICEL.
“In 2012, the CS The CS made a balance of its work during 2012, making public its main activities
detected competition to protect and promote competition executed in the current year.
problems in key
markets such as in the The Competition Superintendent, Francisco Diaz Rodriguez, highlighted that
rice and sugar agro- during the present year the CS carried out its first campaign to sensitize the
industries and in the general population on competition, which has helped to increase the people´s
telephony sector. In knowledge with respect to the authority´s work and regarding anticompetitive
2013, the Salvadoran practices forbidden by the Salvadoran Competition Law (CL).
competition authority
Nonetheless, there was an incident to regret: the fire occurred on October which
will follow up pending
partially destroyed the CS´ offices and that has meant an additional effort to
cases, issued
carry out the reconstruction activities without interrupting the authority´s
recommendations, and enforcement and competition advocacy activities.
initiated sector studies
like the one on air The most significant protection and promotion activities executed during 2012
transport for are the following:
passengers”, asserted
the Competition Cases and fines
Superintendent,
Francisco Diaz The CS concluded three preliminary investigations related public procurement
Rodriguez. processes of goods and services called by the Salvadoran Corporation of Tourism
(CORSATUR, its acronym in Spanish), the Health Ministry (MINSAL, its acronym
in Spanish), and the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA, its acronym in Spanish).
Moreover, the CS worked in ten administrative sanctioning procedures for the commitment of anticompetitive
practices. In one of said procedures the competition authority sanctioned the company DIZUCAR, S. A. de C. V.
(hereinafter, DIZUCAR), with a fine amounting US$1,096,750.00 for abuse of dominance. The aforementioned
sugar distributor created entry obstacles to new competitors and to the expansion of the existing ones, by limiting
the sale of bulk processed sugar and by establishing different prices, discriminating other wholesale sugar
distributors, as well as potential packers, putting them in disadvantage.
Two administrative sanctioning procedures for the alleged commitment of anticompetitive practices are currently
being processed: one against four international hotel chains for an alleged price fixing in catering services for
2. events; and the other one related alleged bid rigging in a public procurement process to hire services to rent tow
trucks, called by ANDA.
In the remaining seven cases, the CS dismissed the complaints due to formal flaws and because the conducts
denounced did not pertain to Competition Law.
In addition, four sanctioning procedures were begun for lack of collaboration. Ones was initiated in the liquid
petroleum gas in which the company Total El Salvador, S. A. de C. V. was imposed a fine totaling US$69,314.60
for not supplying the information requested in the established term. The other three procedures were opened
against the Salvadoran Association of Airline Representatives (ASLA, its acronym in Spanish) and Delta Airlines,
Inc., for supplying, when the term had concluded, information for the study on the competition conditions of air
transport for passengers; and against DIZUCAR, for supplying inexact information during the administrative
sanctioning procedure in which said company was sanctioned afterwards for abuse of dominance.
Totalizing, during 2012, the CS imposed 5 fines: 1 for the commitment of anticompetitive practices and 4 for lack
of collaboration, amounting US$1,288,615.45, yet only US$89.867.70 have been paid.
Mergers and acquisitions
The CS received 15 merger/acquisition authorization requests: 10 were dismissed, and 1 filed by Wallmart and
Calleja was desisted. The remaining four were fully reviewed, with the following results:
1) AMNET and Telefonica Multiservicios (telephony sector): Authorized with ex-post remedies (to be complied
with after the acquisition had been authorized);
2) Seguros Suramericana and Asesuisa (insurance sector): Authorized with ex-post remedies;
3) PUMA and ESSO (liquid fuel sector): Authorized with ex-ante remedies (to be complied with in order for the
acquisition to be authorized by the CS); and
4) CLARO y DIGICEL (telephony sector): Denied. The CS considered that this acquisition might create adverse
effects to competition dynamics and to consumer welfare in land and mobile telephony markets. This has
been the first merger/acquisition authorization request dined by the CS.
Sector studies on competition conditions
Pursuant to a petition from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the CS up dated the 2008/2009 study on the
competition conditions of the rice agro-industry with information until July 2012. Likewise, two sector studies are
currently in process: one on the competition conditions of the market of air transport for passengers and the other
on the competition conditions in the agro-industry of edible lards in the country. Amongst the studies on
competition conditions to be carried out in 2013 figure the following: maritime ports services, supermarkets, and,
corn and beans, this last one to the executed jointly with the Consumer Protection Authority.
Opinions
The CS issued 15 opinions: 5 with respect to drafts of laws and regulations and 5 regarding to public
procurement processes. The Salvadoran competition authority issued opinions on the following legal
instruments:
- Draft of legal framework favoring competition;
- Technical regulation regarding credit card system;
- Regulations with respect to credit card system;
- Central American Technical Regulation - Fertilizers and Agricultural Use Amendments. Registry
Requirements; and,
- Open Skies Multilateral Agreement for Civil Aviation Member States.
3. With respect to public procurement processes, the CS issued the following opinions:
- Public procurement process documents prepared by CAESS (electricity distributor) for long term contract
(CLP, its acronym in Spanish) 001-2012 for the supply of 82.00MW and its associated energy;
- Technical specifications in order to contract directly “Pharmaceuticals Supply”, Ministry of Health, 2012;
- Possible renewal of the contract between Empresa Salvadoreña Portuaria de Acajutla S.A de C.V.;
(ESPAC, its acronym in Spanish) and the Executive Port Autonomous Commission (CEPA, its acronym
in Spanish);
- Public procurement process to contract risk rating services called by the Housing Social Fund and its
securities issues; and,
- International public procurement process documents prepared by DELSUR, CLP-001-2012.
Other Competition Advocacy and Communications Activities
Coordination and Co-operation Agreements. The CS signed three agreements in 2012 with the following
institutions: the first with the National Association for the Protection of the Consumers´ Rights of El Salvador
(APCES, its acronym in Spanish) with the Ministry of Health; and, with the Secretariat of Legislative and Legal
Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic. Through this last agreement the CS aims to previously analyze, from
the competition perspective, the drafts of laws or regulations in process of approval or amendment.
Training on Competition. With the support of the Judicial National Council, the CS trained approximately 35
Civil and Commercial Judges, as well as legal assistants of the Administrative Contentious Tribunal of the
Supreme Court of Justice, through special training courses in Competition Law given by the CS´ personnel.
Participation in the SNPC. In 2012 the CS appointed one of its officials as liaison in the Consumer Protection
National System (SNPC, its acronym in Spanish) where the CS actively participates. The aforementioned
system has become a mechanism to discuss, within technical committees, as the topic may be, public policy
recommendations result of the CS´ sector studies and competition cases. With respect to the milk and cheese
sectors, the Health and Pharmaceuticals Committee of the SNPC presented the amendment drafts to the
institutions responsible for the enforcement of the Law and its Regulations for the Development of the Hygienic
Production of Milk and Dairy Products and the Directives for their Sale and of the Health Code.
2012 Competition Week. Annually, the CS celebrates the Competition Week during which said institution makes
public its most relevant results.
The events carried out during the above cited week included an event for the discussion for the topic
“Enforcement of Competition Laws in Small Economies” with the participation of Lilliam Carsana, juris doctor;
Roberto Rivera Campos, Economist; and, Sandra Barraza, Economista, as commenters. The challenges of the
CS in the enforcement of the Competition Law under the Salvadoran market´s competition conditions were
addressed. Furthermore, the book “Competition Superintendence Jurisprudence Synthesis: Anticompetitive
Practices, Mergers and Acquisitions, and other Proceedings” was launched.
A session was dedicated to public procurement head officers. The Competition and Public Provurement Toolkit,
jointly prepared by the CS and the Public Administration Procurement Unit of the Ministry of Finance (UNAC, its
acronym in Spanish) was launched. This toolkit seeks to promote competition in public procurement procedures.
Said publication is also part of CS Editions (Ediciones CS in Spanish), an institutional collection.
During the aforementioned week, the CS and the National Association for the Protection of Consumers Rights of
El Salvador (hereinafter, APCES, its acronym in El Salvador) signed a cooperation agreement. Afterwards, Mr.
Erick Ulate, President of Consumers from Costa Rica, dictated a lecture on “The Importance of Competition for
the Consumer”, as a result for his experience in this field. At the end of the Week, the CS made public its
competition studies of the rice and sugar agro-industries. Economic agents, sugar and rice producers and
4. distributors, law firms, amongst others, had an opportunity to comment or make suggestions to the information
detailed in said session.
Accountability and Transparency. For a second consecutive year in July 2012, the CS publicly rendered
accounts regarding its work from June 2011 until May 2012. The CS explained its most relevant cases and
studies, as well its main achievements. Regarding transparency, in compliance with the Access to Public
Information Law (LAIP, its acronym in Spanish), the CS has executed all the actions pursuant to the guidelines
issued by the Transparency and Anticorruption Secretariat, in order to enforce said law. The competition
authority appointed the Information Official responsible for the attention of information requests and permanently
updates its Transparency Site with the required information.
Furthermore, seeking to make public its work to the population, the CS has communicated its institutional
activities in its web site, massive e-mails, and through its participation in fairs, and massive communication
events. The involvement of the competition authority in social networks like Twitter has increased more than
600%, with more than two thousand fans and followers, respectively.
Educational campaign on competition. The CS carried out its first campaign to sensitize the general
population on competition in the country with the purpose to position itself as the institution responsible for the
promotion, protection, and guarantee of competition and to educate the Salvadoran population on anticompetitive
practices forbidden by the CL, as well as on the harm these conducts cause to the consumer and our economy.
The aforementioned campaign lasted four months (from June until September 2012) in massive media such as:
TV, radio, written and digital press, specialized magazines, bill boards, movie theaters, and social networks.
Central American and International Activity
The Central American Working Group on Competition Policy has prepared the documents for the adoption of a
regional competition legal framework and the agency responsible for its enforcement. For said purposes, the CS
is the executive unit of the Interamerican Development Bank´s financial cooperation. During 2012, the Group
carried out various activities and is currently in the critical route for the adoption of a Regional Competition Policy
and has contracted a consultancy to determine the basic elements to combat anticompetitive practices that affect
two or more Central American jurisdictions.
The CS participated in the OECD´s Competition Global Forum, in the Central American Competition Forum, and
in the Latin American and Ibero American Competition Forums. One of the main topics of the last mentioned
forum was “Competition and the Reduction of Poverty”. In addition, in the Latin American Forum El Salvador´s
Peer Review was revised; its results will be made public next year. The CS also participated in the ICN Cartel
Workshop which took place in Panama City.
5. Summary table of the CS´ 2012 main activities
2012 ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONING PROCEDURES
Concluded: 3 Public procurement processes of goods and services called by the Salvadoran
Preliminary Corporation of Tourism, the Health Ministry, and the National Administration
investigations of Aqueducts and Sewers.
In process: 2 Wheat flour and liquid petroleum gas markets.
Administrative Concluded:1 Case of abuse of dominance committed by DIZUCAR.
sanctioning
procedures for In process: 2 Alleged price fixing amongst four international hotel chains and alleged bid
commitment of rigging in a public procurement process called by ANDA.
anticompetitive
practices Inadmissible: Dismissed complaints due to formal flaws and because the conducts
7 denounced did not pertain to Competition Law.
Sanctioning 4 sanctions - TOTAL El Salvador: for not supplying the information requested in the
procedures for established term in a preliminary investigation..
lack of - Salvadoran Association of Airline Representatives (ASLA, its acronym in
collaboration Spanish) and DELTA Airlines, Inc., for supplying, when the term had
concluded, information for the study on the competition conditions of air
transport for passengers.
- DIZUCAR, S. A. de C. V., for supplying inexact information during the
administrative sanctioning procedure in which said company was
sanctioned afterwards for abuse of dominance.
Fines imposed 5 fines Totalizing 5 fines were imposed: 1 for the commitment of anticompetitive
practices and 4 for lack of collaboration, amounting US$ 1,288,615.45, yet
only US$89.867.70 have been paid.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Authorized with 3 AMNET to purchase TELEFONICA MULTISERVICIOS;
remedies SEGUROS SURAMERICANA to acquire ASESUISA; and
PUMA to buy ESSO.
Denied 1 CLARO to purchase DIGICEL.
Dismissed 10 - Operadora del Sur (WALMART) and EUROPA;
- Consultoría, Servicios and Capacitación and Consultoría, and
Desarrollo Empresarial;
- CARFLO, PASARI, ARI VAN H, and TRANSMASCO;
- DAVIVIENDA – HSBC;
- UNOPETROL- INVERSIONES PETROLERAS;
- SYSBANC and CITI VALORES;
- MILLICOM, NEWCOM and others;
- KRAFT FOODS and CADBURY ADAMS;
- INTERCARGO and SANDPIPER; and,
- RAF, INVERSIONES and ASESORIA, and PROMEX.
Desisted 1 - CALLEJA to purchase EUROPA.
6. SECTOR STUDIES ON COMPETITION CONDITIONS
Concluded 1 Update of the 2008/2009 study on the competition conditions of the rice agro-
industry with information until July 2012.
In process 2 - Air transport for passengers and
- Edible lards.
To be carried 3 - Corn and beans (executed jointly with the Consumer Protection
out in 2013 Authority);
- Maritime port services; and,
- Supermarkets.
OPINIONS
Opinions to 5 - Draft of legal framework favoring competition;
drafts of laws - Technical regulation regarding credit card system;
and regulations - Regulations with respect to credit card system;
- Central American Technical Regulation - Fertilizers and Agricultural Use
Amendments. Registry Requirements; and,
- Open Skies Multilateral Agreement for Civil Aviation Member States.
Opinions to 5 - Public procurement process documents prepared by CAESS (electricity
public distributor) for long term contract (CLP, its acronym in Spanish) 001-
procurement 2012 for the supply of 82.00MW and its associated energy;
processes - Technical specifications in order to contract directly “Pharmaceuticals
Supply”, Ministry of Health, 2012;
- Possible renewal of the contract between Empresa Salvadoreña
Portuaria de Acajutla S.A de C.V.; (ESPAC, its acronym in Spanish) and
the Executive Port Autonomous Commission (CEPA, its acronym in
Spanish);
- Public procurement process to contract risk rating services called by the
Housing Social Fund and its securities issues; and,
- International public procurement process documents prepared by
DELSUR, CLP-001-2012.