Argentina: Competition regulator rebooted

Argentina’s incoming administration sent a message to the country’s business and political elites, signalling the start of an effort to rebuild Argentina’s institutions after a controversial exit by the outgoing ‘Kirchnerista’ administration. The policy, described by the government as ‘Freedom with Responsibility”, was highlighted by the announcement of a revived National Competition Defence Commission (CNDC) to be launched in the coming weeks.

“In the next few days there will be announcements by the Production Ministry about the structure and the positions being filled, which will fall under the authority of the CNDC, which is something the previous government had mostly neglected” said Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay.

“Argentina’s businessmen will have to get used to competition being a good thing, not just for business but for the citizenry at large.” Argentina’s laws state that it’s this commission that should be in charge of controlling Mergers and Acquisitions, as well as identifying anti-competitive practices, detecting price-fixing cartels or fingering abuse of dominance perpetrators.

Rumors about who will head the relaunched commission have circulated for days, mostly pointing to Esteban Greco, an economist from Torcuato di Tella University with considerable experience in the energy sector. He would replace Ricardo Alberto Napolitani, a lawyer tied to the administration of Cristina Fernández.

Full content: Entorno Inteligente

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