The fines were distributed as follows:
- HOLCIM ROMANIA S.A.: 90,900,114.26 lei (18.2 million euros);
- ROMCIM S.A.: 66,123,571.28 lei (13.3 million euros);
- HEIDELBERG MATERIALS ROMANIA S.A.: 60,942,856.28 lei (12.2 million euros).
Following the investigation, the competition authority found that, at least between 2017 and 2018, the three cement producers exchanged sensitive commercial information (information on future prices, discounts, payment conditions, payment deadlines, quantities, volumes, etc.) through certain clients.
Thus, each of the three producers implemented mechanisms for the internal organization and use of information collected from customers through regional sales agents. In this way, they had access to non-public information (not shelf prices), which they centralised, monitored and used to establish commercial strategies in terms of price policy.
‘Each company involved could reasonably foresee that information about its own commercial conditions would reach the other producers. The behaviour reduced competition, which led to higher cement prices compared to neighbouring countries’, said Bogdan Chiritoiu, President of the Competition Council.
The competition authority monitors the construction materials market, given the strategic importance of the construction sector for economic and social development.
In this context, cement is an indispensable material, being used both for the preparation of concrete and as the main ingredient for a multitude of building materials. In recent years, Romania’s construction sector has been on an upward trend. Thus, even during the Covid-19 pandemic, construction works registered a significant increase of about 18% compared to2019. Subsequently, amid the energy crisis that followed the medical crisis, construction volumes continued to grow at an annual rate of around 12-15%, with 2024 marking a relative stabilisation of the sector.
January 2025 source: https://www.consiliulconcurentei.ro/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Eng-concrete-ian-2025.pdf
09.01.2025 / Editor, Andreea Dragan
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