About the Speaker
Mohammed is a Senior Associate with Pinsent Masons. He specializes in the construction and infrastructure sector in Hong Kong and has experience of mid-project support and disputes on a wide variety of projects, including both building and civil engineering projects in Hong Kong and throughout the region.
As part of his practice, Mohammed also advises businesses in the construction and infrastructure sector on issues arising out of the Competition Ordinance in Hong Kong. He advises on internal compliance policies, entrenching good practice as well as training for front-line staff and at the senior management level. He has recently represented a construction industry trade association in discussions with the Competition Commission as well as advised it on internal compliance policies as well as compliance policies for members of the association.
Abstract
The Competition Ordinance came into force in Hong Kong in December 2015. Since then, the Competition Commission launched its first cases targeting anti-competitive conduct, including one targeted at cartel conduct and price fixing in the construction sector. This is not surprising given that the real estate and property management, and machinery and equipment companies have been identified by the Competition Commission as one of the areas where it has received a significant number of complaints from the public.
This seminar will first provide a brief overview of the First Conduct Rule (which prohibits agreements between businesses which are designed to affect competition in Hong Kong) and the Second Conduct Rule (which prohibits businesses that have a substantial degree of market power from abusing that power by engaging in conduct that has the object or effect of harming competition in Hong Kong) as well as other key features of the Competition Ordinance.
It will then focus on the practical aspects of competition compliance in Hong Kong given the nature of the construction and real estate industries and their significance in Hong Kong as well as to identify common scenarios that may be faced by professional surveyors as part of their responsibilities and identify practical steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of contravening the Competition Ordinance. |
