The Competition Council has sanctioned the companies Holcim Romania SA, Romcim SA and Heidelberg Materials Romania SA with fines totaling 217.966 million RON (approximately 43.7 million euros) for coordinating pricing policies, according to a press release of this institution.
Holcim Romania SA received the highest fine, amounting to 90.9 million RON (18.2 million euros), while Romcim SA was fined 66.123 million RON (13.3 million euros) and Heidelberg Materials Romania SA 60.942 million RON (12.2 million euros).Following the investigation, the competition authority found that, at least in the period 2017-2018, the three cement producers exchanged sensitive commercial information (information on future prices, discounts, payment terms, quantities, volumes, etc.) through some of their customers.
Thus, each of the three producers implemented mechanisms for the organization and internal use of information collected from customers through regional sales agents. In this way, they had access to information that was not public (not being about shelf prices), which they centralized, monitored and used in establishing commercial strategies regarding pricing policy.The competition authority states that it monitors the construction materials market, given the strategic importance of the construction sector in economic and social development.
In this context, cement is an indispensable material, being used both for the preparation of concrete and as the main ingredient for a multitude of construction materials. The Competition Council notes that, in recent years, the construction sector in Romania has been on an upward trend. Thus, even during the Covid-19 pandemic, construction works recorded a significant increase, of about 18% compared to 2019. Subsequently, in the context of the energy crisis that followed the medical crisis, the volume of construction works continued to grow at an annual rate of about 12-15%, with 2024 marking a relative stabilization of the sector.