Zambia’s consumer and competition watchdog said Monday it has finalized guidelines that will provide a structured and transparent process for companies that want to merge.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said the guidelines have been finalized after wide consultation with various stakeholders.
“The guidelines are aimed at providing both the Commission and its stakeholders a structured and transparent process of merger regulation in Zambia. The guidelines were developed following numerous calls particularly from the business community and the legal fraternity on merger review and the applicable process,” Hanford Chaaba, the CCPC’s public relations officer said.
The guidelines, he said, were developed with input from various stakeholders and with support from the World Bank and the Zambian government, adding that the guidelines will act as a direction pointer to merger regulation and are aimed at bringing to the stakeholders the processes that are involved in merger regulation.
The need to develop the guidelines came in the wake of stakeholders not being clear with the merger regulation process in the country and confusion that marred various merger applicants who did not understand the requirements and the processes that needed to be followed.
It is therefore hoped that with the guidelines in place, stakeholders and applicants will be properly guided with regards to merger processing and with an appreciation of the process, he added. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
