SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC
considers appropriate to stop the infringement and, where necessary, require such action to be taken as is specified in the direction to remedy, mitigate or eliminate any adverse effects of such infringement and to prevent the recurrence of such infringement. In relation to anti-competitive agreements, direc - tion may require parties to: • modify or terminate the agreement that infringed the prohibition; • enter into legally enforceable agreements designed to prevent or lessen the anti-com - petitive effects that have arisen; • dispose of operations, assets or shares in undertakings in such manner as may be specified by the Commission; • provide a performance bond, guarantee, or other forms of security on such terms and conditions as the Commission may deter - mine; and/or • where the infringement is committed inten - tionally or negligently, pay such financial penalty as the Commission may determine, which may not exceed 10% of a party’s busi - ness turnover in Singapore for each year of infringement, up to a maximum of three years. To date, the Commission has conducted 21 investigations into anti-competitive agreements such as bid rigging and price fixing, 19 of which have concluded with infringement decisions issued and two that remain pending. Recent Enforcement Activity In recent years, the Commission has increased its enforcement activity. In the 2023 fiscal year (ie, 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024), the Com - mission completed eight preliminary enquiries into cases, which is double the amount of the previous two years.
The Commission issued two infringement deci - sions in 2024. One infringement decision was in relation to bid rigging for tenders for interior fit-out construction services, where a total of nearly SGD10 million in financial penalties were imposed on two companies. This is the high - est penalty issued by the Commission for a bid- rigging case in Singapore. The other infringement decision was in relation to the procurement of vulnerability management software by a publicly funded polytechnic. Nota - bly, this is the first time where an infringement decision was issued against an individual. In this case, sham bids were submitted by the individ - ual on behalf of two newly incorporated compa - nies, as part of a bid-rigging arrangement. The individual was the director of one of the newly incorporated companies, and the company sec - retary for the other. In 2024, the Commission also issued two pro - posed infringement decisions, one in relation to bid-rigging public sector tenders involving two construction companies for rigging bids in public sector tenders, and another in relation to the unlawful exchange of price information by two remittance service providers. As of 12 April 2025, both investigations are still ongoing. It is expected that the Commission will continue to strive to ensure rigorous, timely and effec - tive enforcement, with stepped-up enforcement actions and enhanced investigative capacity
within the Commission. Rise of the Digital Era E-commerce platforms
In 2020, the Commission had conducted a mar - ket study on e-commerce platforms. With the rise of the digital era and the increase in popu - larity of e-commerce platforms, the Commis -
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