Anti-monopoly commission probes unfair practice at Caltex

The anti-monopoly commission has started an investigation on the alleged unfair practice carried out by PT Caltex Pasific Indonesia on the tender for the construction of its pipeline network, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

Syamsul Maarif, the vice-chairman of the commission said on Tuesday the investigation was still in its initial stage and it would only determine if the unfair practice charge addressed against the oil giant needed a follow-up.

According to data provided by the plaintiff, the company had allegedly breached the anti-monopoly law but the commission had to carry out an investigation to find out if the allegation was true, he said. He added that the commission had 30 days to decide whether or not to go ahead with the investigation.

Syamsul, however, declined to disclose the name of the plaintiff. "I could not disclose the name of the plaintiff because according to the anti-monopoly law, the name of an informer should be kept secret," he added.

But Syamsul said that the plaintiff had complained that the alleged unfair practice carried out by Caltex had caused a disadvantage to small and medium-scale companies because the bidding system carried out by the oil giant only favored big players. (*)