Egyptian government to address monopoly accusations

Some cement makers found to 'exaggerate increases' in costs.[$]

{reg}[PAID={"id":"1,2,3,4,5","title":"The content you tried to access is only available to paid subscribers.","link":"1"}]The Egyptian government has formed a panel to address claims of monopolistic practices conducted by certain cement manufacturers reports Ahraam.

The panel is investigating charges that cement companies colluded to keep prices high despite the low cement demand last year. The panel found evidence that the cement makers planned to raise cement prices by as much as 150 pounds in three months. Prices in the country averaged at 375 pounds which is 100 pounds higher than government estimates.

The panel found ten cement companies guilty of exaggerating their costs and raising prices unnecessarily. The unidentified companies have since been fined ten million pounds. {/reg]