Peru: Business groups speak out against merger control

Peru’s leading business groups have spoken out against the implementation of a new regulations and reviews on mergers and acquisitions, considering it an inadmissible interference of the state in economic activities.

Roque Benavides, president of the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP) stressed that merger regulation exists in countries with strong institutions and safeguards against corruption. In addition, he pointed to bureaucracy as the main obstacle to investment in Peru, warning that the new controls proposed by the administration would likely worsen this situation.

Mario Mongilardi, of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima, commented that merger control is “unnecessary” because there already are mechanisms to help combat abuses of dominance in the market.

“We consider that we could strengthen controls to avoid abuses, and we also consider that adding an extra first step to business activities constitutes a bureaucratic barrier to investment, when Peru needs investment. Therefore, we would be sending the wrong signal,” he said.

Full Content: La República

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