Nizwa: An awareness seminar discussing the roles of the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Centre was held in the Nizwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry hall.
The seminar was held under the auspices of Shaikh Saleh bin Dhiab al Rubaie, Wali of Nizwa. It was organised by the Centre for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention (CPMP) at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion in cooperation with the OCCI Al Dakhiliyah branch.
The seminar comes as part of the centre's awareness campaign ‘Protecting competition for a competitive economy’, which is touring the governorates in the Sultanate of Oman. The campaign targeted businessmen, owners of small and medium enterprises, owners of factories, and owners of national products in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.
The media campaign aims to raise awareness of the role of the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Centre and introduce the services it provides. It also covered provisions of the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law and its executive regulations and spread the legal culture to protect competition and prevent monopolies. The campaign also seeks to educate the public, including consumers, merchants and investors, on the provisions of the law and the principles of the free market in general for competitive markets for a competitive economy.
Zahran bin Salim al Mahrouqi, Director-General of the Centre for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention (CPMP) at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said: “The symposium discusses the importance of competition and the risks of monopolies as well as encouraging fair competition between companies and institutions. It also sheds light on the ministry’s efforts to protect monopolies and open competition for all.” Al Mahrouqi also pointed out the importance of the centre's role in preparing statistical indicators, opening the market, preventing negative practices and monopolies, protecting competition and combating dumping in international trade.
The symposium featured various working papers that began with defining the services provided by the centre, presented by Marwa bint Rashid al Alawi, a legal affairs researcher at the centre. She defined the provisions of the Competition Protection Law and its executive regulations and presented a working paper on the prohibited practices in the Competition Protection Law.
Hazaa bin Nasser al Maamari, Director of the Center's Economic Focus Department, presented a working paper on the acquisition and merger law. Bader bin Mubarak al Hajri, Head of the Anti-dumping Department at the Centre, presented a working paper defining and Harmful Practices Law. This was followed by a discussion and questions from the audience, moderated by Falah bin Ahmed al Ruqaishi, Director of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry branch in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.
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