Represented by The Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Center (@CMC_OMAN), the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) seeks to achieve a set of objectives, including working to amend the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law in line with regional and international changes, to lay the foundation stone for a project to prepare competitive indicators for the Omani market, and preparing a series of studies and researches for various local sectors in the Omani market and disseminate them to ensure raising of awareness among the community.
Faisal bin Saud al-Nabhani, in charge of running the Directorate of Monitoring and Analysis in Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Center, at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said: The center aims at enhancing the competition, opening new horizons towards a free and attractive economy for investment, protecting and encouraging competition, preventing monopolistic practices, regulating the freedom of economic activities in the local market, and the consolidating the principle of market rules and freedom of prices for the benefit of the national economy and the consumer as well.
Faisal Al Nabhani added: The Center also seeks to achieve its objectives and implement laws and regulations related to the protection of competition and the prevention of monopoly by taking investigation and research procedures, collecting inferences about practices that are violating the law, receiving complaints, and taking appropriate measures in this regard, preparing studies and research related to the market and publishing them to raise the awareness of the community.
He pointed out that, during the last period of this year The Competition Protection He pointed out that, during the last period of this year The Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Center received a number of complaints related to several sectors including, foodstuffs, electronic machines, and a number of other commodity goods, while the Centre studied and verified the submitted complaints.
He clarified that the Center has the right to impose administrative fines in cases where a violation of the law is proven, to refer it to the Public Prosecution if needed, or to keep the file if the a violation is not proven.
He also pointed out that, the center also receives requests for economic concentration from various companies of several sectors. It also studies and analyzes these requests and takes the appropriate decision on the same.
The Center also receives requests for exemption from the implementation of the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law and works on studying them and taking the appropriate decision in accordance with the powers granted to the Ministry.
Faisal al Nabhani emphasized that the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Center is currently working on preparing an integrated study for the retail sector, while the regional role of the center is obviously highlighted via its coordinating and participating with the GCC countries aiming at issuing a unified Gulf competition law that can work to protect and encourage competition in the Gulf market.
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