ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has launched a new Market Intelligence Unit (MIU) - a new department for market surveillance to curb market abuse, collusion and cartels.
The objective of the MIU is to create advanced technological and data analytical capabilities to assess the market data to identify the collusive practices. It’s a transition from the previous approach of reactive enforcement to pro-active enforcement.
The CCP has already singed MoU with the Urban Unit in Punjab. The CCP will also be obtaining data on all essential commodities from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. It will also obtain data in all essential products, various sectors of the economy to identify collusive practices and cartels. The collusions and cartels drive the prices up in the economy maximising their profit at the expense of poor nation.
The history of market abuse is as old as the markets itself. Unscrupulous players have become sophisticated and leave no smoking guns. In line with international approach, MIU will gather economic data. It will monitor various sectors and industries through market surveys and consumer feedback.
It will monitor supply and demand side to identify distortion in natural equilibrium. It will use various software, tools, econometrics models and price movement analysis to curb market abuse, collusion, and cartel in the economy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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