Agreeing upon and sustaining cartel outcomes requires some form of communication between competitors.

The role of information exchange in dampening competition or facilitating cartel conduct is a contentious topic and one that the Competition Commission continues to face as firms find more creative and sophisticated ways to collude.

Given the history of pervasive cartel activity in many concentrated sectors in South Africa, information exchange that increases transparency and allows rivals to coordinate and monitor each other’s strategic market actions and outcomes is particularly concerning.

To provide more certainty on the types of information exchange and the circumstances under which such exchanges are problematic, the Competition Commission has released draft guidelines for public comment on ‘The Exchange of Information between Competitors', attached here. Public comment is welcomed by the Commission.

As part of this process, CCRED invites you to a roundtable discussion of the draft guidelines. Pertinent developments in the approaches to understanding the role of information exchange in collusion, both locally and internationally, will also be debated.

 Professor Massimo Motta (the former Chief Competition Economist at the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition) will provide reflections from the EU experience.
 Professor Liberty Mncube (Chief Economist of the Competition Commission South Africa) will provide an overview of the draft guidelines.
 Professor David Unterhalter (Senior Counsel) will reflect on the challenges of information exchange from a legal perspective in light of South African cases.
 Professor Simon Roberts (Executive Director of CCRED) will act as initial discussant.

A draft of the exchange guidelines information is available here.

Venue: CCRED Seminar Room, 1st Floor, 6 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. Click here for map
Date: 13 September 2017
Start Time: 16:30 - 18:00

RSVP by email (infoccred@uj.ac.za) or by clicking on the link below before 11 September 2017 to book your place. Limited spaces available! Parking is limited. Additional parking available at Rosebank Mall.