The Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) has on 5 January 2018 issued an Infringement Decision against five capacitor manufacturers (“the Parties”) for engaging in anti-competitive agreements. The agreements include price-fixing and the exchange of confidential sales, distribution and pricing information for Aluminium Electrolytic Capacitors (“AECs”) in relation to customers in Singapore, thereby infringing section 34 of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) (the “Act”). 

The Parties are:

a.     ELNA Electronics (S) Pte. Ltd. (“ELNA”);

b.     Nichicon (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (“Nichicon”);

c.     Panasonic Industrial Devices Singapore, and Panasonic Industrial Devices Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (collectively referred to as “Panasonic”);

d.     Rubycon Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“Rubycon”); and

e.     Singapore Chemi-con (Pte.) Ltd. (“SCC”).

The harm to competition was for a protracted period of time as this was a long-running cartel made up of the major suppliers of AECs in ASEAN, including Singapore. The Parties have therefore committed a serious infringement of the Act. 

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