COMESA pockets $3.1 million in merger filing fees
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Comesa, Competition Commission received over $3.1 million in merger filing fees between December 2015 and October 2016 according to the commission’s performance brief.
Out of that amount, more than $1.5 million will be allocated to relevant competent authorities in designated member states.
According to the Commission’s performance brief presented last week to the Council of Ministers’ meeting in Madagascar, at the just concluded 19th Summit, the Commission assessed 24 merger cases as at July 2016.
More than 70 per cent of the mergers received were in the financial services sector with the rest in construction, insurance, telecommunications, energy and agriculture.
Majority of the mergers assessed in 2016 affected Kenya, Zambia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
The chief executive of the Commission, Mr George Lipimile, said: “The case of Zambia and Kenya may be explained by the fact that their economies are relatively large and have outward looking policies which provide a conducive environment for businesses including attracting foreign direct investment.”
With regard to Mauritius, most of the firms operating in Comesa have their holding parents in Mauritius. Egypt and Ethiopia are among the largest economies in Comesa, but recorded relatively low cross-border mergers affecting them.
This can be attributed to their economies being generally in-ward looking with robust local firms which merge amongst themselves.
Regarding the prominence of mergers in the service sector, this may be attributed to the diversification efforts of the Common Market in moving from the traditional trade in goods towards trade in services.
It may also be attributed to the emergence of a middle class in most of economies in the Comesa.
The Commission retains 50 per cent of the common market merger filing fees and distributes the remaining 50 per cent among the relevant competition authorities in the designated member states.
The Commission intends to intensify its technical assistance and capacity building in member states with particular focus on the training of the national competition authorities on the enforcement of the regulations.
Mr Lipimile said: “Our focus in 2017 shall be on advocacy in order to sensitise national governments and other stakeholders on the provisions of the regulations and the need for domestication of the Comesa Treaty and Regulations.”
