Tour Group, Hotel Fined Under Price-fixing Settlement

The Competition Commission said on Friday it welcomed a settlement under which a former chairman of the Travel Industry Council was banned from serving as a company director for three years and his travel agency and a hotel operator were fined over a price-fixing case.

The commission's statement came one day after the Competition Tribunal ordered Michael Wu be disqualified from acting as a company director for three years. It also imposed a fine of about HK$4.17 million on Gray Line Tours and HK$1.6 million on the operator of the Inter-Continental Grand Stanford (ICGS) hotel group.

Wu's Gray Line Tours had been accused of agreeing with its rival, Tink Labs, to fix prices of tourist attractions and transportation tickets sold at hotels owned by nine groups between 2016 and 2017.

Six of those hotel groups and a tour agency resolved the case with the Competition Commission earlier, accepting infringement notices.

Wu, Gray Line Tours and ICGS had admitted to contravening competition law, and entered into cooperation agreements with the commission.

"This case highlights the benefits for undertakings that decide to cooperate with the commission under the commission's Cooperation and Settlement Policy for Undertakings Engaged in Cartel Conduct at an early stage, whereby the Commission and cooperating undertakings would reach an agreement to dispose of both the liability and relief portions of the proceedings by consent, thus saving both sides significant time and costs," the commission said in a statement on Friday.

"The orders represent a significant outcome in the enforcement of the [Competition Ordinance] as it is the first case where the Commission resolves an enforcement action by way of consent based on its Cooperation Policy."

Proceedings are ongoing for the operators of Harbour Plaza 8 Degrees and Prudential Hotel, which did not reach cooperation agreements with the commission.