The Competition Commission of Hong Kong today published a revised set of model “Non-collusion Clauses” for procurers to incorporate in their invitation to bid documents and contracts.
The newly added clauses require bidders to disclose information on their beneficial ownership which, in turn, will provide procurers with greater clarity as to the competitiveness of the procurement process.
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Through its investigative work, the Commission has seen instances where a number of businesses have submitted what appear to be independent bids but which in fact have been coordinated due to the existence of a common beneficial owner.
While not necessarily a contravention of the Competition Ordinance, such behaviour gives a misleading impression of the level of competition in a bidding process which the Commission considers it appropriate to address through these model clauses.
