KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) launched a RM500,000 Research Grant Programme (RGP) yesterday to determine the extent to which enterprises in a particular sector engage in fair and open competition.
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| Shila Dorai Raj |
MyCC Chief Executive Officer Shila Dorai Raj said the commission expected the RGP-funded research studies to provide a clearer picture of the competitiveness of enterprises in the Malaysian economy.
She said the ultimate aim of the RGP is to ensure that any action taken by the MyCC is grounded on solid and sound evidence.
“The findings of these studies will be of immense benefit to the MyCC in shaping competition polices, laws, strategies and advocacy activities for the present and the future,” she said in a statement, yesterday.
The RGP is open for applications from Jan 2 to April 30, 2013, where the Call for Applications 2013 is being disseminated through the MyCC website and flyers will be mailed to universities, research institutes, think tanks, and civil society organisations.
Shila said examples of research studies that can be undertaken with respect to the priority sectors include existence of anti-competitive practices such as cartelisation, collusion to fix prices, bid rigging practices, quota on outputs, and controls on market access.
The other examples are resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, tie-in deals, abuse of dominant market position through predatory pricing, refusal to supply, imposing unfair conditions on suppliers or retailers, in specific local markets or geographical regions in Malaysia.
“In implementing the RGP, the MyCC has announced that it will be relying on competition policy and law experts and practitioners from the academia, industry and civil society organisation to assist it to evaluate and select the successful grant applicants,” she said, adding that the MyCC will be sending invitations to these experts to serve on its RGP Panel of Experts.
She said each research grant will not exceed RM25,000 and it is open to all Malaysians including freelance researchers.
However, Shila said RGP will fund market surveys, case studies and research on the anti-competitive and pro-competitive economic climate, laws and practices in Malaysia relating to food production, transport, healthcare institutions, professional services, housing developers and financial institutions.
The objectives of the RGP are to:
ReplyDelete· Fund research on competition issues in the MyCC Strategic Research Areas;
· Use the findings of the research to develop informed and evidence based competition policies, laws, guidelines, codes of practice and design competition advocacy activities;
· Enable the dissemination (nationally and internationally), of academic as well as popular articles and publications on competition issues and practices of specific relevance to the Malaysian economy; and
· Provide an opportunity for academics and civil society to participate and contribute ideas and knowledge to the promotion and development of competition policy making.
The RGP will fund market surveys, case studies and research on the anti-competitive and pro-competitive economic climate, laws and practices in Malaysia relating to the following priority sectors and stakeholders:
ReplyDeletei. Food production, import and distribution;
ii. Transport such as taxies, buses, mass rapid transit, railways, air travel, hauliers and shipping;
iii. Healthcare Institutions, including the pharmaceutical industry;
iv. Professional services;
v. Housing developers; and
vi. Financial institutions;