EU: Antitrust regulators charge 10 Asian capacitor makers over cartel

The European Commission said Wednesday that it suspects 10 Asian manufacturers of electrolytic capacitors – a key component of most electronic products – of illegally coordinating their business operations.

Electrolytic capacitors help to regulate power output and are used in products such as cameras, televisions, games consoles and mobile phones, according to the European Union‘s executive.

The commission suspects that, between 1997 and 2014, the 10 firms held meetings in Japan to “discuss future market trends, prices and specific customer information,” it said in a statement. Further meetings may have taken place on European soil.

On Wednesday, the commission wrote to each of them, laying out its concerns and giving them a chance to respond. It did not identify the companies, as is usual at this stage of investigations.

The inquiry began in March 2014 and involves several competition authorities around the world, the commission said.

The commission, which enforces the bloc‘s competition laws, can fine a company up to 10 per cent of its global turnover if it is found to be in breach of EU legislation.

Full content: Reuters

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