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ANNEXURE D
Action plan: Phase II
Discussions at the afternoon meetings of 6th
& 8th Sept generated an outline action plan for Phase II of the
7-Up project.
Phase II research should run concurrently with
the end of Phase I. The first part of the research, a questionnaire on cross-border
competition concerns for competition agencies and stakeholders, should be conducted
during October and November. Draft results should be collated and presented
at the next interim meeting to be held on 15th December in Jaipur.
Case studies would be conducted subsequently after further discussion to take
place at the interim meeting.
The partners approved the broad outline of
a questionnaire and three case studies and agreed that this was a manageable
volume of work for Phase II. The next step is to finalise the questionnaire.
Partners can then use the questionnaire and November NRG meeting to identify,
along with national stakeholders, the case studies that they will take up.
The research outline was designed to reflect
the cross-border concerns that are of most relevance to the project countries
and to allow for comparability between the countries.
There will be two parts to the research
1.
Preliminary questions covering
cross-border issues.
2.
Three case studies:
i.
Case study on an international
merger (as far as possible, same case in all countries)
ii.
Legal-economic case study of
one sector (as far as possible, same case in all countries)
iii.
Legal-economic case study on
a sector (to be chosen by the partner)
a.
Preliminary Questionnaire on Cross-border Concerns
A questionnaire will be prepared and distributed
to the partners by 1st October 2001. [See separate document].
This questionnaire will be targeted at stakeholders and will seek to reveal
the incidence of cross-border competition abuses; nature (cartels, abuse of
dominance through IPR etc.); sectors in which these occur. The responses will
feed into the selection of case studies. The second stage will be deeper research
on the way these abuses have been handled by the Competition Authority and collection
of all available materials relating to the actions taken by the CA.
Interviews should be begun immediately on receipt
of the questionnaire and preliminary results will be discussed at the Symposium
on Competition to be held in Geneva on 12th &13th
October. Interviews should be completed by mid-November and results presented,
along with suggestions for case studies, at the Partners’ meeting on 15th
& 16th December. An NRG meeting would be held by the end of October
as part of this research.
Where the questions require information on
the results of an investigation etc., the partner should provide such public
information as is available from the CA. The partner should prepare an accessible
digest of the case in lay-man’s language. It was noted that this could be a
problem in Kenya where only the judgement in a case is made public and not the
deliberations.
Some concern was expressed that in a country
like Tanzania where the CA does not yet have experience of competition cases,
the information that could be generated would be very limited. This information
in itself is useful to the research. Where there have been no legal cases, the
partners could orient the studies toward analysing whatever information is available,
and to assessing the ways in which international cooperation could be useful.
b.
Case studies (3)
The topics and methodologies for the case studies
will be developed in more detail at the Interim meeting on Dec 15 and in the
light of interview results and discussions at the NRG meetings.
1.
Case study on international merger
CA investigation of an international merger: CocaCola/Cadbury Schweppes
[If this merger was not investigated by the
CA, researcher should select another international merger that may/may not have
been investigated by the CA or a national case involving transnational companies]
i.
What prompted the investigation?
ii.
How was the investigation conducted?
iii.
What problems were encountered
in collecting information?
iv.
Was any cooperation with CAs of other countries sought?
v.
What was the outcome of the investigation?
vi.
Were any conditions were imposed?
Which?
vii.
What kind of international cooperation
would have helped the CA in this case?
2.
Sector competition audit case
study [Legal and economic documentation]:
Cement
i.
What is the structure of the
sector?
ii.
What competition concerns exist
in this sector, involving either domestic/international firms?
iii.
Is there any evidence of collusive
behaviour by international firms affecting the sector?
iv.
Has there been any M&A activity
in the sector, either domestic or cross-border?
v.
Has the sector/any firms been
investigated by the CA?
vi.
If not, why not?
vii.
If yes, what prompted this investigation?
viii.
What were the results of the
investigation?
ix.
What problems were encountered
during the investigation?
viii.
What kind of international cooperation
would have helped the CA in this case?
3.
Sector case study [Legal and
economic documentation]
Each partner should select a sector that raises important
cross-border competition concerns in that economy. e.g. telecommunications, banking, pharmaceuticals,
road transport etc. This case study should analyse the nature of the concerns
and the impact these have had in the economy. The study should include analysis
of the economic impact on the sector.
i.
What is the level of concentration
in the sector? Market structure, penetration etc.
ii.
What level of FDI penetration
is there? What are the regulations on foreign firms operating in the sector?
iii.
Prices/supply/quality/choice
in the product markets over time
iv.
What is the regulatory environment
for the sector?
v.
What are the competition concerns
in the sector? All cross-border/some domestic?
vi.
Has the sector been examined
by the CA?
x.
What prompted this investigation?
xi.
What were the results of the
investigation?
xii.
What problems were encountered
during the investigation?
xiii.
Was there any regional/international
cooperation in the investigation?
ix.
What kind of international cooperation
would have helped the CA in this case?
vii.
What impact has there been of
any action taken by the CA? Short- & long-term.
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