Watchdog flags potential multiple bid-rigging syndicates in Wang Fuk Court works

The Competition Commission has not ruled out prosecuting the consultant and contractor involved in the Wang Fuk Court major maintenance project, as it continues to investigate suspected bid-rigging activities linked to the development.

Speaking at the fourth public hearing of the independent committee on Thursday, Lester Lee Hiu-leung, executive director for legal services at the Competition Commission, said authorities are examining whether more than one bid-rigging syndicate may have been involved in the project.

The commission on Wednesday filed a case against a separate bid-rigging syndicate involving six business entities, alleging price-fixing and market-sharing arrangements. Lee stressed that the allegations remain untested, noting that the respondents have not yet had the opportunity to respond to the claims.

The watchdog is also reviewing conduct described as “collecting assignments,” “submitting assignments,” and the issuance of pricing guidance among the parties involved.

Lee said that if the case is successfully prosecuted, it would mark the first conviction of a bid-rigging syndicate under Hong Kong’s Competition Ordinance.

Will Power Architects Company Limited and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. Limited, the consultant and contractor for the Wang Fuk Court project, are not defendants in the current proceedings. However, Lee said the Wang Fuk Court case remains under active investigation.

He added that the commission has not ruled out the possibility that two or more separate bid-rigging syndicates were involved, nor the prospect of further prosecutions. Allegations related to conspiracy to defraud have already been referred to law enforcement agencies for follow-up.