BAF Vietnam faces penalty for breaching competition law

BAF Vietnam faces penalty for breaching competition law

BAF Vietnam and Thanh Xuan Clean Agriculture Development have been fined a combined nearly VND900 million ($35,300) for failing to notify authorities of an economic concentration transaction.

The National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision No.122/QD-CT in May on a competition case involving violations of regulations on economic concentration related to a share acquisition.

According to the regulator’s findings, BAF Vietnam Agriculture JSC and Thanh Xuan Clean Agriculture Development JSC failed to fulfill mandatory notification procedures under the Competition Law in relation to BAF Vietnam’s acquisition of 99.99 per cent of the shares/charter capital of Thanh Xuan.

For the violation, the National Competition Commission imposed a fine of more than VND820.2 million ($32,200) on BAF Vietnam and more than VND78.5 million ($3,100) on Thanh Xuan Clean Agriculture Development JSC, bringing the total penalty for the two companies to nearly VND900 million ($35,300).

The commission said both companies have complied with and completed the enforcement of the decision in accordance with regulations.

BAF Vietnam is known as part of the Tan Long Group ecosystem led by businessman Truong Sy Ba. Tan Long is currently one of Vietnam’s major agricultural trading groups, with key products including grains, rice and cashew nuts, and expanded into pig farming in 2017.

BAF Vietnam recently proposed investing in a 220-hectare multi-storey pig farming complex in Hanoi using a closed-loop, high-tech model aimed at reducing costs and environmental impacts.

Under the proposal, the project would operate as a fully integrated system with modern production lines covering breeding to commercial pork production. Compared with traditional farming methods, the model is expected to save land space while reducing feed and labour costs.

BAF Vietnam also submitted a proposal in July last year to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment seeking opinions on the deployment of multi-storey pig farming models.

VIR