Saint Gobain under CCI scanner for abusing its dominant position in the market

NEW DELHI: India's competition watchdog has launched a full-fledged investigation against French glassmaker Saint Gobain after a preliminary review found that the company's Indian unit deliberately lowered prices of its products to drive out competition. "We have substantial evidence that Saint Gobain Glass India Ltd (SGGIL) engaged in limit pricing to make entry into the float glass segment unprofitable for others," a senior official at the Competition Commission of India said. Limit pricing, a monopolist practice in which an incumbent firm deliberately cuts the price of its products to discourage other potential entrants, is considered anti-competitive in India and could attract penal action under anti-trust laws. But Chennai-based Saint Gobain Glass said the charge was baseless. "No clear case of dominance can be found against us," a director on SGGIL board said. The Commission, in June, opened a preliminary enquiry against the company on a complaint alleging that Saint Gobain had abused its dominant position in the market by lowering prices between October 2010 and June 2011.