The input from members of the public would be delivered through a conference set up at the commission's offices on Thursday morning.
The proposed acquisition is deemed to create a monopoly in the cement industry for
This new sale proposal follows a failed bid by another Chinese company early last year, which was blocked by the
The stock exchange said the non-profitability of the
German company Schwenk Zement has, however, found another Chinese buyer, WCC, with the acquisition hinging on the approval of the
WCC wants to acquire a majority stake in
The conference will give the public a platform to give their opinions on the takeover, and help the commission to arrive at the right decision on the proposal.
Setting up the conference is allowed in terms of section 46(1) of the Competition Act before the commission can take any decision.
The commission will seek public opinion on various issues that could be affected if the Chinese company takes over
"Concerns remain as far as relationships between the acquiring group and
The commission also highlighted that employment concerns have been raised that after the acquisition, the Chinese company would replace Namibian employees with foreign employees.
Another issue is localisation or award of outsourced services, goods, and/or products to foreign companies as opposed to Namibian companies.
"Concerns have been raised that the foreign companies avoid localisation requirements by awarding tenders for services, goods to foreign companies registered in
The commission added that this further cuts out any Namibian competitors from providing services in the relevant market.
Another issue raised if the acquisition is allowed is potential mispricing that could exist as the Chinese contractors also dominate construction industries in
As a result, the commission is worried about "the negative implications of transfer mispricing post-merger".
The total subscribed, issued and fully paid-up share capital of
WHY COMPETITION
According to
Their price analysis shows that both Semi (32.5) and high (42.5) strength cement recorded a price decline of 2,4% and 2,1%, respectively, in
The third year of suppressed cement prices were initially triggered by the slowdown in construction activities.
Additionally,
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