OREANDA-NEWS. February 10, 2014. An enlarged board meeting on the results for 2013 and determining the objectives for 2014 was held in the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Competition Protection (Antimonopoly Agency) with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan B.T. Sultanov.

Also, there were the representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation P.T. Subbotin, Director of the Pricing Policy Department of the Ministry of Economy of Belarus I.A. Fomin, heads and representatives of public organs, non-governmental organizations, business community, media, and employees of the ACP.

There were following speakers apart from keynoters:

- Deputy Chairman of "National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan" Z.D. Yertlesov;

- Executive Director of JLE "Republican Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises" N.V. Radostovets;

- Deputy Director of the Department for Competition Policy and public purchases policy of Eurasian Economic Commission Parsegov B.A.

The Chairman of the Agency for Competition Protection (Antimonopoly Agency) G. Orazbakov highlighted significant results of the department in the first part of the speech.

ACP conducted 36 commodity analysis that resulted in making 30 proposals for the Government and public organs, half of them has been accepted for implementation.

At the same time, the head of the Antimonopoly Agency noted remaining high monopoly in railway transport, civil aviation, telecommunications, fuel and energy complex. Financial markets and industries markets are moderately concentrated.

As a positive example G. Orazbakov made aviation market, where it is possible to see the first results of measures developed by ACP. So, ACP initiated cancellation for airports with 5% limitation on the right to receive income from other activities in order to increase the attractiveness of transit airports and improve their profitability. The result - a share of income of Astana Airport from other activities for only three months (August to December) in 2013 compared with the same period in 2012 increased up to 6%. In addition, Astana Airport plans to provide additional services due to the new possibility of developing non-aeronautical activities. The airports of Kyzylorda and Pavlodar have been developed by the same method.

The Agency's proposal to create an electronic information platform (Electronic Exchange of carriages) for the service of carriage operators is supported. In the ACP’s view this will increase the transparency and efficiency of using rolling stock by shippers and put prices down for services using freight stock.

The development of competition through introducing regulated services of natural monopolies to the competitive market. The services of telecommunications network connection at the local level were introduced in 2013. A plan for the comprehensive analysis of natural monopoly regulated services (goods, works) for their introduction to the competitive environment will be developed in this direction.

An interdepartmental working group has been found in an effort to improve state regulation of goods market, and it considered useful phasing-out the price regulation on regulated markets under CES.

The prices of goods of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation were compared in order to monitor the price situation of the main group of foodstuffs in the border regions. Results showed signs of dumping price fixation for imported products. These facts are sent to the Commission.

A joint monitoring of drug prices in the CIS countries, food prices in the border regions of the Customs Union has been started and issues of creating a common database for information exchange between Competition agencies for global monitoring the prices of petroleum products have been looked into in order to identify facts of anticompetitive behavior of market participants on time.

Head of the ACP presented the results of some investigations:

-LLP "Atyrau Refinery" violations were rectified;

- Administrative infraction cases were brought against JSC "Kcell" and LLP "MobaylTelekomServis" that "impose" additional service "always connected" without the
consent of the subscribers. They are sent to the court for consideration.

The actions of JSC "Shymkent Cement" and LLP "Standard Cement", JSC “Central Asia Cement”, JSC “Bukhtarma Cement Company" and LLP "Semey Cement Plant" are qualified as anticompetitive concerted actions regarding increase in cement prices. To date, the two market subject are responsible for administrative responsibility to date, the budget was paid a fine of 1.6 million tenge. Materials for other market subjects are under advisement.

In 2013, held the next stage in the development of antitrust laws, under which reduced administrative burden on market actors - notification procedure introduced into 2 types of transactions of economic concentration.

Thus, in the course of his report, the head of the antitrust agency reported on the results of implementation of priority directions of ACP activities in 2013, including initiatives to create a favorable competitive environment, the importance of which is associated primarily with the establishment and operation of a common market with Russia and Belarus.

In the end of his speech the head of the antimonopoly authority noted that the priority of planed activities for 2014 is connected with certain tasks related to the President’s Address to the Nation "Kazakhstan's way - 2050: common goal, common interests, common future, as well as strategic planning of the antimonopoly authority.