OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2011. The Head of Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) Igor Artemyev presented an annual report “On the State of Competition in the Russian Federation in 2010” to the Government of the Russian Federation, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

According to FAS, at the beginning of 2010 there were 4,9078,000 economic entities in the Russian economy, which is a slight increase in comparison with previous years. The number of companies increased in motor vehicle trading and servicing, transport and communications, residential housing management. A downward trend is observed in manufacturing activities, including manufacturing of machinery and equipment.

At the same time, the proportion of the largest companies in the economy continues to decline. In 2005, 10% of GDP were generated by 10 companies, in 2007 — 16 companies, in 2008 — 25 economic entities, and in 2009 — 32 largest companies.

Surveys and research conducted by independent experts show that enterpreneurs assign positive characteristics to competition in Russia: every second respondent (43%) evaluated it as “rather good” and every forth (23%) as definitely “good”.

In 2010 FAS and its regional offices initiated 11431 cases on violating the antimonopoly law. The nature of violations committed by economic entities is changing: cartel agreements between companies and organisations have increased by 24%; on the contrary, violations committed by entities that have dominant position are decreasing (to 18.7%).

Nearly one third of exposed antimonopoly violations concern competition-restricting acts and actions (omissions) of the federal executive bodies, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies as well as state extra-budgetary funds. The remaining violations FAS experts reveal in the agro-industrial complex, transport and communications, the fuel-and-energy sector.

According to Igor Artemyev, transition to electronic trading in 2010 helped resolving several key problems associated with the shortcomings of the old system of state and municipal procurement. With the new system of electronic trading the risks of bid-rigging and putting pressure on “undesirable” bidders by competitors and organisers (customers) are minimised, because in electronic trading suppliers cannot be identified before the price results are announced.

Among the main FAS objectives for developing competition policy in the Russian Federation, Igor Artemyev emphasized:

Creating conditions for developing competition in activities of economic entities that are not holders of natural monopolies;

Preventing and suppressing anticompetitive intervention of the authorities and local self-government bodies in market performance; and ensuring effective protection of entrepreneurship;

Ensuring equal access to the goods (works, services) of natural monopolies;

Developing competition in potentially competitive activities of the holders of natural monopolies.

Igor Artemyev expressed his confidence that the “third antimonopoly package” of amendments to Russian law, approved by the State Duma of in the Russian Federation in the first reading on 9th September 2011, would help improving antimonopoly regulation and developing competition.