The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission has issued a Statutory Notice to Paradise Company Limited to provide information relating to its acquisition of Laga Industries Limited on 3 July 2018.
The information requested is necessary for the ICCC to investigate the acquisition and would assist in performing its statutory functions set out in the ICCC Act 2002.
Both Paradise Foods and Laga Industries are well-established competitors in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, and ICCC Commissioner Paulus Ain said there are genuine competition concerns, and an assessment is necessary for this acquisition.
The statutory notice under section 128 of the ICCC act was issued to Paradise Foods after its failure to comply with requests for information to be provided to ICCC by 20 July.
The penalties for non-compliance of a Statutory Notice issued under Section 128 of the ICCC Act includes court ordered fines of K50,000 or imprisonment for a term of six months.
Commissioner Ain said sufficient time was given to provide the necessary information. A follow-up letter to Paradise on 16th August, 2018, was not responded to, neither were the information provided.
He added the ICCC also reserves its rights to institute legal action in court to challenge the acquisition if it forms a concluded view that the acquisition would, or would be likely to substantially lessen competition in PNG.