AMCM meets with insurers regarding bid-rigging

The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) has met with the city’s insurance industry regarding the recent media report that local insurer Macau Insurance Company was alleged to have rigged bidding process with its competitors.
‘The Monetary Authority of Macau has not received any complaints or enquiries from any bid inviter. However, it has followed up on the report and met with the insurance industry, stressing the law regulations that the industry must obey,’ the regulator wrote in an announcement yesterday.
The monetary authority highlights in its announcement that Articles 153 to 173 of the Commercial Code ban any action preventing competition, violating competition rules and restricting competition. It notes victims can bring such unlawful actions to the courts.
On Sunday, Chinese language Apple Daily cited a recording of MIC’s internal meeting last December, saying that the company’s CEO was requesting staff working on tenders to have ‘more under-the-table co-operation’ with other insurance companies.
The recording obtained by Apple Daily documents the CEO also mentioning ‘negotiations with other companies for reinsurance’. Incorporation of Fidelidade Macau, China Taiping Insurance (Macau) Co., Ltd. and Asia Insurance Macau were all mentioned in the recording.