Asia/Pacific News
China: Competition Issues Caused P3 Denial
China's Ministry of Commerce has issued a statement explaining that the potential for restricted competition caused it to stop the proposed P3 shipping alliance from proceeding, industry news site Seatrade Global reports.
"The ministry of commerce does not object to enterprises using their own resources to achieve competitive standings in the market," it said.
"But for these already powerful enterprises to further their market dominance by entering into alliances, there will be a need to seriously analyse the impact on competition."
China announced Tuesday that it would not allow the alliance of Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), and CMA CGM, which had already received U.S. and European Union (EU) approval, to move forward.
The ministry said it considered issues including market share, market dominance, barriers to entry, and industry characteristics.
"The combined capacity of the three P3 members would give them a 47% market share in the main Asia-Europe container shipping trade," it said.
