Consumer foundations sue trade commission for allowing CP-Tesco merger
The Foundation for Consumers (FFC) and 37 other consumer organisations have filed a lawsuit against the Trade Competition Commission (TCC) for giving the go-ahead to the CP-Tesco merger.
The foundation said this merger will allow the Charoen Pokphand Group to hold an 83.97 per cent market share of Thailand’s wholesale and retail sector, and essentially stifle small businesses.
FFC slammed TCC for not listening to stakeholders before allowing the merger as is required by the 2017 Trade Competition Act.
The Trade Competition Act aims to prevent any particular operator from holding more than 50 per cent of the market share in any sector.
It also pointed out that some members of the subcommittee that approved the merger had close ties with the CP Group, which is in violation of the Information Act.
FFC also warned that this merger will only encourage other big players in the energy, telecom or entertainment sector to seek similar deals to dominate the market.