14 electrical firms fined for bid-rigging

[Yue Ying]

14 electrical firms fined for bid-rigging
By Joanne Chan | Posted: 04 June 2010 1209 hrs
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SINGAPORE : The Competition Commission of Singapore has fined 14 electrical and building works companies some $190,000 for rigging bids.

The companies were found to have colluded on tender bids for 10 projects from July 2007 to April last year.

One company would collude by asking another to 'support' his bid price to a customer by submitting a higher quote.

This increased the first company's chances of winning the bid.

In some instances, the requester even prepared the quotation for the supporter, who 'generally had no intention to submit competitive bids for the project'. - CNA/jy

 

[lauhumku]

Companies caught bid rigging


Jun 4, 2010
Companies caught bid rigging

<!-- by line --> By Jessica Lim
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> FOURTEEN major players in the electrical and building works sector were taken to task for conspiring with one another to rig bids. But in a first, one of the guilty companies - Arisco Engineering & Maintenance Services - was given only a warning as it blew the whistle on the others. The rest of the firms were slapped with fines ranging from $5,000 to $45,000. The fines amounted to 2 per cent of each company's total average turnover and also depended on factors like the number of infringements each company was involved in, as well as whether it cooperated with the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS).

All 14 companies had colluded with each other on 10 projects from July 2007 to April last year. The companies sought to increase their chances with a systematic approach: A firm that wanted to win a particular bid would submit a lower quote, while his 'partner' will submit a higher one.
Companies which submitted high bids were rewarded with a similar favour at a later date, when it came time for them to vie for projects. As the companies are well-known in the industry, they are often approached by the same building developers who ask them for quotations on projects. Such bid-rigging amongst each other thus gave them a good chance of clinching a project.

The projects involved installing lights and maintaining switch rooms for buildings like the Esplanade, as well as private condominiums and factories. The companies have until Aug 4 to pay up.