Oman to limit the entities that control supply and demand in the market

Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion represented by the Center for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention is working during the next stage to study requests for economic concentration in the local market with the aim of ensuring that a new market-dominant entity is not established that is able to control and influence directly or indirectly the supply and demand in the relevant market, which limits From the ability of competitors to enter the market or limit their competition in it or exclude them from it.

The ministry clarified that creating a private sector that can lead a competitive and integrated economy with the global economy is one of the most important strategic directions in Oman 2040 vision, as the role of the Center for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention in the ministry aims to achieve this in regulating the freedom of economic activity and ensuring the achievement and application of the rules of free competition. Raising awareness about it, and consolidating the rules for protecting competition and preventing monopoly, in a way that benefits the national economy and the consumer.

Hazaa bin Nasser Al-Maamari, Director of the Economic Focus Department at the Center for Competition Protection and Anti-Monopoly Prevention at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said that the ministry has the authority to monitor the subsequent completion of the economic concentration process and to follow up on the extent to which people comply with the conditions and obligations specified in the approval decision, noting that this procedure is the responsibility of the Oversight Department on Economic focus requests.

The Director of the Department of Economic Focus indicated that the term economic focus is one of the new terms in the Arab region, and it is one of the important elements that develop and develop the national economy and protect free competition. Economic activity, and the consolidation of the principle of market rules and freedom of prices, in a manner that does not lead to the restriction, prevention or harm of free competition.

He pointed out that the establishment of the Economic Focus Department at the Center for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion came in line with limiting the ability of the entity emerging from this behavior and affecting or controlling, directly or indirectly, the relevant market as it is dominant.

Hazaa Al-Maamari explained that the procedures for requesting economic concentration begin when people who wish to undertake any action that constitutes an economic focus submit a written request to the ministry, accompanied by the documents and data required to obtain approval to complete the economic concentration process by the ministry.