This week, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) issued three price-fixing cartel cases against 21 of the major producers of table eggs, including board members of the Table Eggs Chamber, which is part of the General Union of Chicken Producers. In those cases, the Cartel Members agreed on the selling price of white and red table eggs, violating Article 6 of the Egyptian Competition Law No. 3 of 2005. The ECA initiated criminal proceedings before the public prosecution office for the Cartel Members and did not settle the case.

Over the past year, antitrust regulators in the Middle East have implemented significant changes to the local competition law regimes, with a new competition law coming into effect in the United Arab Emirates and substantial changes being made to the applicable merger control regimes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Egypt. Competition law enforcement has also continued to intensify in the KSA and Egypt, as well as in other key emerging markets in the GCC. During this 2-hour seminar, we will provide an update on the latest key competition law developments and what to expect on the horizon as well as compliance tips and pointers.

In recent years, competition law enforcement has intensified in key emerging markets with significant developments in other developing countries. It is vital for companies to remain compliant with applicable antitrust laws and continue their commercially independent behavior. In this webinar, we provided the latest key antitrust and competition developments for the past year in emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa and strategized for what is on the horizon.

In recent years, competition law enforcement has continued to intensify in key emerging markets in the EMEA region. In our 60-minute “quick hits” webinar, we will provide an update on the latest key competition law developments, compliance tips, and pointers on what is on the horizon. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, 10 July 2024 at 15:00 BST / 16:00 CEST for one hour.

Ahead of the coming into force of the new Egyptian merger control regime on 1st of June 2024, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) today published its new notification form as well as questions and answers providing clarifications to merger parties. The ECA had received feedback that its proposed jurisdictional thresholds were too broad leading to transactions with no impact on the Egyptian market needing to be notified. To address these concerns, the ECA has narrowed down its jurisdictional thresholds, clearly requiring a local nexus for transactions. The ECA has also created a simplified procedure and fast track process for certain transactions.

The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) recently issued its first vertical restraints case prohibiting the vertical agreement between eight manufacturers and suppliers, along with their distributors (organized/hypermarkets and independent merchants). The ECA stated that were they found to have agreed on setting the minimum fixed resale price maintenance (RPM) and adopted Most Favored Nation clauses (MFN) in distribution contracts of household electrical appliances. This conduct was deemed a violation of Article 7 of the Egyptian Competition Law No. 3 for 2005.

On 4 April 2024, the Executive Regulation of the new Egyptian pre-merger control regime was officially published by Prime Minister Decree No. 1120 of 2024. The ER introduces the implementing regulations for the newly established pre-merger control regime issued by the Law number 175 of 2022 which empowers the Egyptian Competition Authority with significant powers in reviewing and approving transactions. The ER states that it will enter into force on 1 June 2024, i.e. transactions that close on or after 1 June 2024, and meet the prescribed thresholds, must obtain prior approval from the ECA.

In our 60-minute webinar on 14 March 2023 at 3:00pm CET, we’ll help in-house counsel and competition leaders track what to keep top of mind for 2023 in emerging markets, including Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. We’ll also provide practical takeaways to help navigate the new landscape.

The Egyptian Parliament has approved amendments to the Law number 3 of 2005 on the Protection of Competition and the Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices (ECL), introducing for the first time a mandatory pre-merger notification regime in Egypt. Until now, the ECL had only a post-merger notification system which did not give the Egyptian Competition Authority any powers to assess, approve or block a transaction. The amendments are expected to be published in the Official Gazette and enter into force during December 2022.

In two recent cases, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) issued infringement decisions against two dominant companies. In the first case, the ECA established that a company operating in the yeast industry has abused its dominance in a number of ways, including restricting passive sales between distributors and also engaging in retail price maintenance. In another case, the ECA was against a food delivery online e-platform for abusing its dominance by engaging in Most Favored Nation clauses with the restaurants in violation of Article 8 of the Egyptian Competition Law No. 3 for 2005.