CCCS: Three companies found to have rigged bids for Wildlife Reserves projects

According to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), three companies, namely, Shin Yong Construction, Geoscapes, and Hong Power Engineering were found to have rigged their bids for the provision of building, construction and maintenance services.

The companies are said to have fabricated a misleading view that an independent competitive bid was made to Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS).

The rigged bids were submitted for WRS attractions such as Jurong Bird Park, the Night Safari, Singapore Zoo and River Safari.

Following a lodged complaint by WRS made four years ago, CCCS had begun looking into the allegations of bid rigging of civil and electrical works for attractions hosted by the WRS.

Upon closer investigation, it was revealed that all three firms had exchanged information whilst putting forth “independent bids” during the tender process.

The companies were found to be infringement of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) which prohibits agreements or concerted practices by undertakings which prevent, restrict or distort competition within any market in Singapore.

The concerned parties were found to have participated in anti-competitive agreements to rig the bids for the provision of building, construction and maintenance services under Invitations To Quote (“ITQ”) and Invitations To Tender (“ITT”).

The bid rigging arrangements occurred from at least 1 July 2015 to 6 October 2016.

In a statement made on the official CCCS site, it is understood that the companies were issued a Proposed Infringement Decision (“PID”).

A (PID) is a written notice setting out the facts on which CCCS makes its assessment and its reasons for arriving at the proposed decision. It is issued to the parties to help them make representations and provide any other information in support of their representations for CCCS.