The fine was decreed by the Competition Regulatory Authority on the grounds that Dugongo failed to respond to questions from the regulator about “sales price calculation methodologies” raised by “evidence of anti-competitive practices in the construction cement sector.
Speaking to public channel Televisão de Moçambique (TVM), the cement company’s spokesman, Rui de Carvalho, assured that the company will pay the penalty, but accused the regulator of not having made representations to Dugongo.
“We will pay the fine, but we were not contacted and the decision to fine the company was taken based on correspondence taken from the company without the knowledge of the administration,” Carvalho said.
Dugongo’s spokesman rejected the accusations imputed by the regulator, arguing that the company will only pay to protect “national interests,” without being concrete about the meaning of this expression.
Mozambique’s Dungongo Cimentos is owned by Mozambican business group SPI and Chinese group West China Cement Limited (WCC).
Soon after its entry into the market, in May 2021, Dugongo charged cement prices well below those applied in the market, leading other operators to accuse the company of disloyalty and causing the bankruptcy of other cement companies and layoffs in the sector.
After months of activity and with very low prices, the company has raised the cost of cement to levels close to what was practiced by the cement plants forced to close.
