A retired glass industry executive whose name was redacted in the documents as the person wanted confidentiality, had in May filed the case against Saint-Gobain and its local unit to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the report said.
A retired glass industry executive whose name was redacted in the documents as the person wanted confidentiality, had in May filed the case against Saint-Gobain and its local unit to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the report further said.
They have been accused of abusing their market position in so-called clear float glass, a smoothened variant often used in windows, doors or facades, and coated glass variants. As per the documents, Saint-Gobain has a 44 per cent share of the float glass market in India and a 19 per cent share of the coated one.
In a statement to Reuters, Saint-Gobain said it was not aware of and nor had it been served any complaint, notice or document. The group and its India unit, Saint-Gobain India Private Limited, “conduct their activities in compliance with laws”, in particular competition law, it said.
The documents allege Saint-Gobain entered into agreements with glass processors, forcing them to “exclusively” purchase glass from the company or face stopped supplies if that obligation is not fulfilled.
Furthermore, the company, in some cases, directly fixed prices with large customers such as Indian real estate giant DLF, and then asked distributors to supply at those rates, thereby imposing unfair anti-competitive conditions.
Saint-Gobain counts India as a key market. The company’s CEO Benoit Bazin had earlier this year said that “India is flying”, saying the South Asian nation was its number three market in terms of operating income, and the company was the number one player in glass in India.
Source: www.businesstoday.in
