December 07, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 15, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: The Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) has imposed fines on eight pharmaceutical and textile industries and rebuked a leading bottled water company for mis-statement while hearing an unreasonable monopoly power case.

Headed by its chairman, Khalid A Mirza, the MCA has imposed Rs100,000 fine each on M/s Haral Textiles Mills, M/s Service Industries Textile Ltd, M/s Maqbool Textile Mills Ltd, M/s Farooq Habib Textile Mills Ltd, M/s Don Valley Pharmaceutical (Pvt) Ltd, M/s Remington Pharmaceutical Industries (Pvt) Ltd and M/s Siza International (Pvt) Ltd.

The authority also imposed Rs25,000 fine on M/s Irfan Textiles (Pvt) Ltd.

All the eight companies are required to comply with the orders of the authority failing which they will be liable to action under sub-section (2) of Section 19 of MRTPO 1970 for imposition of further penalty of Rs10,000 per day.

A press release issued here on Wednesday stated that the hearing for these cases was held at the authority’s camp office in Lahore on Monday and Tuesday.

The authority also heard the case against Nestle for aggrandising its monopoly power and lessening competition in the bottled water through acquisition of three competitors.