Competition watchdog: latest bid-rigging crackdown

The Competition Commission is further cracking down on syndicates suspected of bid-rigging over building maintenance contracts.

They were allegedly involved in projects across 28 housing estates and buildings with a total contract value of 500 million dollars.

It's understood a syndicate also colluded on bids for the fire-hit project of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

During the operation, authorities raided 12 sites, including the offices of four contractors and the residences of the suspects.

The Competition Commission says during the first round of crackdown in January this year, the watchdog discovered a suspicious phone message conversation indicating the presence of another hidden bid-rigging syndicate.

A contractor which was not previously investigated, allegedly used intermediaries to reach out to other contractors during a housing estate's tendering process to coordinate their submission of "cover-up tenders."

But some of these contractors had allegedly been approached by another contractor to collude on bids for the same project.

It later came to light that the contractor involved was allegedly engaged in anti-competitive practices across multiple projects, including handing other contractors so-called "homework" during the tendering process -- meaning they provided bid-price instructions to manipulate the outcome of tenders.

The suspected bid-rigging group is understood to have been operating over the past three years.

It had also taken part in the tender for the Wang Fuk Court renovation project in Tai Po.

This firm, alongside Prestige Construction and another contractor that was exposed in an earlier crackdown, are among the three groups that had attempted to secure a share of the Tai Po project.

The 28 projects involved are spread throughout 12 districts across Hong Kong.

Some contracts had already commenced or completed before the probes.

In the first round of crackdown earlier this year, the Competition Commission investigated 14 contractors and consultancy firms over suspected bid-rigging work across nine districts.

The contracts involved were estimated to be worth around 700 million dollars.