Trident Steel's ZAR 8.6 Million Fine Was Confirmed by The Competition Tribunal

BD Live reported that aveng subsidiary Trident Steel’s ZAR 8.6 million fine set by the Competition Commission was confirmed by the Competition Tribunal on Wednesday.

The settlement followed a commission investigation which found that Trident Steel and its competitor, Macsteel Service Centres, had contravened the Competition Act by agreeing to fix the prices of all steel products manufactured by Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium.

From 2002 to 2008, both Trident Steel and Macsteel were distributors of Highveld Steel products sold into the Africa overland market. The commission’s investigation came after it received an application for leniency, in 2009, from Macsteel. The penalty amounted to 2% of Trident’s turnover for its 2008 financial year.

The commission found that while acting as distributors of Highveld Steel’s products, the two companies agreed on a premium to charge all domestic resellers and wholesalers. This was to address the problem of resellers selling products that were meant for the export market into the domestic market.

South Africa’s largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal SA, is also facing a number of investigations by the Competition Commission. These include alleged prohibited vertical practices in respect of purchases of scrap steel, the alleged excessive pricing of tinplate and flat steel in general, and alleged price discrimination in wire rod.

Also pending adjudication by the tribunal is a March recommendation by the commission that a penalty be imposed on ArcelorMittal amounting to 10% of its 2008 annual turnover about ZAR 3 billion for alleged restrictive horizontal practices.