SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Khaled al-Khashab and Shahad Al-Humaidani, GLA & Company
4.3 Reliance on Case Law There is no indication that the GAC relies on case law with respect to issues such as market definitions from other jurisdictions. 4.4 Competition Concerns The GAC will generally consider the following categories of economic concentration. • Horizontal concentrations: these involve concentrations of actual or potential suppliers of substitutable goods or services, typically operating on the same or a comparable func - tional level of the supply chain and therefore commonly a concentration of competitors in the same market. • Vertical concentrations: these involve under - takings operating, or potentially operating, at different functional levels of the same vertical supply chain. This is commonly where the output in one market is an input into produc - tion in the other market. They are therefore not commonly in direct competition with each other in any market. • Conglomerate concentrations: these involve undertakings that operate, or potentially oper - ate, in different markets. They are not in the same vertical supply chain but supply goods or services that are in some way related to each other, eg, products that complement consumers or production. 4.5 Economic Efficiencies The GAC assesses the effect of economic con - centrations on competition, competitive con - straints and the efficiency of markets, rather than on the efficiency of individual entities. The consideration of efficiencies is relevant to the competition assessment if, and only if, the efficiencies are likely to result in lower, or not sig - nificantly higher, prices, increased output and/or
• Consumer interests and welfare. • Potential impact of the economic concentra - tion on prices, quality, diversification, innova - tion or development in a relevant market. • Actual or potential harm or benefits to com - petition from the economic concentration transaction. • Supply and demand growth and trends in the relevant market and commodities. • Barriers to entry or exit of new undertakings into a relevant market, their continuation therein or expansion, including regulatory bar - riers. • The extent to which an economic concentra - tion may create or strengthen a significant market power or a dominant position of an undertaking, or group of undertakings, in any relevant market. • The level and historical trends of anti-com - petitive practices in a relevant market, either for the parties to an economic concentration or the undertakings which are influential in the market. • Views of the public, economic concentration- related parties and sector regulators. Dominance in a relevant market can be dem - onstrated if one or both of the following criteria are achieved. • A market share of 40% or more of the rele - vant market, whether it is the share of a single firm or a group of firms, whenever that group acts with a common will in committing the violation or causing the effect. • The ability to influence a relevant market such as controlling prices, production or demand, whether it is the ability of a single firm or a group of firms, whenever that group acts with a common will in committing the violation or causing the effect.
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