RIYADH: An awareness campaign to spread the culture of fair competition among businessmen and traders has been launched.

The campaign, the Competition Council’s (CC) fourth, is particularly meant to enlighten the business sector about the most common irregularities of trade under the banner ‘violations of fair competition.’

The campaign focuses on the high market share of the dominant establishments, which have the ability to influence the prevailing market price.

This is in view of the fact that such establishments, due to the status that they enjoy, may resort to practices prejudicing fair competition.

Such practices include selling a product or providing a service in exchange for another commodity, thus restricting the consumer’s freedom and violating the spirit of competition.

Competition Council Secretary General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Qassim said in a statement that the campaign is considered the last one of the first year, featuring the issuance of 60 press ads in various dailies, and four TV publicity clips.

Through the media blitz, the council is detailing its work and functions, and shedding light on the most common and widespread irregularities in the business sector as part of the project of spreading the culture of competition, including several awareness campaigns that began in mid-2014 and will continue for three years.

The announcement of the campaign comes a day after the Council of Competition held a meeting with members of the marketing committee of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), stressing the need for encouraging fair competition in Saudi trade and investment, promoting healthy business practices, avoiding irregularities and checking monopoliztic trends.

This will help enhance the growth process of the national economy and enable private sector enterprises to increasingly engage in healthy business practices, Al-Qassim told the meeting hosted by RCCI.

The Competition Council is an independent legal entity, enjoys administrative and financial independence, seeks to promote and encourage fair competition, and fights against monopoliztic practices that affect the legitimate competition.

More information is available on the council’s website coc.gov.sa, social media or on toll-free number (8004400033).