Saudi competition authority receives 233 economic concentration requests since inception

The Saudi General Authority for Competition (GAC) received 233 applications for economic concentration since inception, 57 of which were submitted in 2019, Mohammed Alblaihed, Head of Economic Affairs at GAC, told Argaam in an exclusive.

The number of economic concentration applications rose by four when compared to 2018, he noted.

“The authority studied the real estate and pharmaceutical sectors this year,” Alblaihed said, adding, “It is looking forward to studying the healthcare and motor sectors in 2021.”

The majority of economic concentration applications were submitted for the wholesale, retail, building and construction, real estate and manufacturing industry sectors, he pointed out.

Moreover, several complaints are being studied on mergers and acquisitions by the economic affairs unit at GAC.

The authority’s economic affairs department receives complaints about economic concentration to take a decision about them. It also studies the market and sectors to clamp down on violations or enhance competition in various sectors, Alblaihed concluded.