The Anti-Trust Authority is an independent body headed by a Director and is under
the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with the
Restrictive Business Practices Law of 1988.

The Anti-Trust Authority is responsible for enforcing the law regarding government
intervention to maintain appropriate levels of competition in the economy. The
Authority deals with three types of restrictive practices: cartels, monopolies
(including oligopolies) and mergers.

A cartel is an arrangement among companies to reduce or prevent competition. Since
a cartel is not necessarily harmful, the law permitted cartels, which are approved by
the Trade Restrictions Court. In addition, the Director has the authority to exempt a
cartel from obtaining such approval if it has a negligible influence on competition.
Operating a cartel without a permit is both a criminal and civil offence.

A monopoly exists when one company is responsible for more than one half of the
supply of a good or service. A monopoly cannot refuse to supply a good or
service without reasonable justification and is not permitted to exploit its monopoly
position in a way that will harm competition or the public. The Director has the
authority to issue directives to monopolies.

Mergers between companies that meet certain criteria are under the auspices of the
Director. The Director has the authority to withhold approval of a merger if
competition is compromised. Approval is granted following consultation with the
Advisory Committee on Corporate Mergers.

The decision of the Director can be appealed by the companies directly involved or
by an interested third party. When needed, the appeal is heard in the Trade
Restrictions Court.