KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9): Malayan Flour Mills Bhd’s (MFM) partially-owned subsidiary Dindings Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd (DPDC) has received a one-month extension from the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) to submit its written submissions, in response to the proposed poultry feed price-fixing decision the competition watchdog levied against it.
“MyCC has extended the deadline for DPDC to file its written representation from Sept 20 to Oct 21, 12pm,” MFM said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday (Sept 9).
MFM joins PPB Group Bhd’s 80%-owned subsidiary FFM Bhd and Leong Hup International Bhd’s unit Leong Hup Feedmill Malaysia Sdn Bhd (LFM) in having received a one-month extension to respond to MyCC’s price-fixing allegations.
To recap, MyCC on Aug 5 issued a proposed decision against five feed millers — including DPDC, FFM and LFM — saying that the commission had provisionally found them to have infringed the Competition Act 2010 by entering into anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices in increasing the price quantum of poultry feed that contained soybean and maize as its main ingredients, between early 2020 and mid-2022.
The other two feed millers allegedly involved were Gold Coin Group’s Gold Coin Feedmills (M) Sdn Bhd, and CP Malaysia’s PK Agro-Industrial Products (M) Sdn Bhd.
In the event DPDC is found to have infringed the Competition Act 2010, MyCC has proposed to impose a financial penalty of RM70.02 million — up to 10% of DPDC’s relevant turnover during the period of infringement.
At noon break, shares in MFM had slipped half a sen or 0.85% to 58.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM596.64 million.