Criminalising bid-rigging to bring ‘revolutionary overhaul’ to sector: minister

The Hong Kong government has announced sweeping reforms aimed at combating bid-rigging and bringing about a "revolutionary overhaul" of the city's building maintenance sector. In response to a judge-led independent committee report on the devastating Tai Po fire, which claimed 168 lives last year, the justice minister, Paul Lam Ting-kwok, stated that the proposed legislative amendments aim to raise standards and strengthen oversight in the sector.

The amendments include criminalising bid-rigging, price-fixing, market exploitation, and output restrictions, with both individuals and companies facing potential criminal liability. A task force, composed of intelligence and enforcement powers from the police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the Competition Commission, will be established to combat bid-rigging syndicates and enhance intelligence gathering, joint enforcement operations, and risk alerts. The new legislation is expected to be passed by April next year.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.