KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Shares in My E.G. Services Bhd (MyEG) and Pharmaniaga Bhd were down in active trade today after Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the companies were being reviewed by a special cabinet committee on monopolies.

MyEG, which was the most actively traded stock this afternoon, fell as much as 4 sen or 2.74% to RM1.42. A total of 115.25 million shares had been traded as at 3.41pm.

Meanwhile, Pharmaniaga lost 7 sen or 3.14% to RM2.16 this afternoon. It was one of Bursa Malaysia's top 10 largest decliners.

At a luncheon hosted by MIDF today, Saifuddin said the committee, chaired by Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, is scrutinising MyEG and Pharmaniaga, as well as Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) and Puspakom Sdn Bhd.

Recommendations made by the committee have yet to be submitted to the cabinet, Saifuddin told reporters.

He added that there were three elements to consider in assessing monopolies, namely whether the policies that allowed for the creation of these monopolies are still relevant, the size of their investments and the economic impact of potentially dismantling them.