Selected Transportation Sectors under Market Review of the Malaysia Competition Commission

29 June 2021

Tan Shi Wen

1. Local port authorities should review and standardise item of charges to avoid the introduction and revision of unregulated landside charges by shipping lines which could lead to anti-competitive effects resulting in higher costs of trading (import/export) which could cascade down the supply chain leading to higher prices of goods;

2. The Government should gazette and enforce a blanket imposition of the use of alternative schemes to container deposit (e.g. non-cheque deposit, container ledger, etc);

3. Shipping lines should provide options from panel depots where other industry players can choose from to avoid foreclosure of market to equally competitive players;

4. The length of concession agreements should be reasonable and not excessively long (e.g. 30 years);

5. The role of the port operators in the downstream market should be limited by way of clear stipulation in the concession agreements; and

6. Port operators should obtain approval from the relevant ministry prior to their ventures or expansion in downstream activities.

1. Car manufacturers should remove vehicle warranty restrictions for service and repair to avoid vehicles being sent by customers only to authorised workshops out of fear of voiding the manufacturer’s warranty as this may result in foreclosure of the market against independent workshops (thereby restricting consumer freedom) and may lead to higher labour charges/car parts prices; and

2. MyCC should initiate further inquiry/investigation into competition concerns relating to the “vertical agreement between insurance companies and vehicle manufacturers” that contain “throughput requirement clauses” that encourage insurance companies to drive business to authorised workshops over independent workshops.