Cartel ruling expected shortly, India

A ruling by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on an alleged cartel by cement companies is expected imminently, with a negative verdict likely to negatively affect profits and pricing power, according to sources.

“Rumours of penalties of cement companies by CCI has been doing the rounds time and again,” said Vivek Mahajan, head of research at Aditya Birla Money.

Brokerage Macquarie said in a March-end report said it expects penalties of about seven per cent of total revenue (last three year’s average) which equals 5-6 per cent of market capitalization for each hear of the investigation. (Source: Reuters).