District councillor Peggy Wong and Prestige Construction directors Gordon Ho and Hau Wah-kin deny allegations of gift bag exchanges for proxy votes and bid-rigging in Wang Fuk Court renovation contract selection.
Hong Kong's Competition Commission revised tender clauses, requiring bidders to declare no collusion, and is considering increasing the maximum penalty for bid-rigging to 10 years. This follows a deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court linked to collusive practices in a maintenance project.
Hong Kong's ICAC received 1.5 times more corruption complaints about building renovations in early 2026 vs. last year, following public concern after the Wang Fuk Court fire. The ICAC doubled investigators to 100.
Hong Kong's ICAC received 1.5 times more corruption complaints about building renovations in early 2024 vs. last year, following public concern over bid-rigging after a fatal fire. The ICAC has doubled investigators to 100.
Japan's Fair Trade Commission plans to order over 30 construction companies, including Haseko Reform and Daikyo Anabuki Construction, to pay approximately 1.6 billion yen in fines for violating the Antimonopoly Act through bid-rigging on large-scale condominium renovation projects. Two design consulting firms will also be subject to orders to prevent recurrence.
Japan's Fair Trade Commission plans to issue cease-and-desist orders to 38 construction and design consulting firms for bid-rigging on condominium renovation projects, also planning to impose fines totaling approximately 1.6 billion yen.
Former Tosashimizu Mayor Yō Hodo'oka and former city councilor Hiroo Nagano received suspended sentences for violating the Anti-Monopoly Act. They leaked the minimum reserve price for a public works bid, allowing a contractor to win the contract by bidding slightly above it.
Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki expressed deep regret over alleged bid-rigging in the Sapporo extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen line, urging a swift investigation to minimize impact on the project and alleviate public anxiety about the opening timeline.
JR Hokkaido President Yasuyuki Watari apologized for bid-rigging allegations in the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension project. The Fair Trade Commission is investigating 9 companies, including JR Hokkaido's subsidiary, for suspected violations of the Anti-Monopoly Act. Local governments expressed concern over project impact and cost justification.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has begun an investigation into suspected bid-rigging concerning track-laying construction for the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension. Allegations suggest companies divided contracts for the 10-section project, with high winning bid rates observed for completed sections.
Japan's Fair Trade Commission is investigating nine construction companies and the Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency for alleged bid-rigging in contracts for the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension project. The companies are suspected of coordinating bids to limit competition for track laying work, with some contracts exceeding 94% of their value.
The Hong Kong Bar Association has proposed criminalising bid-rigging by introducing a “double-track” approach to the Competition Ordinance, describing it as a quick fix to increase deterrence and encourage more whistle-blowers to expose industry malpractice following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Under the current civil regime established in 2015, the ordinance only punishes individuals involved in serious anticompetitive acts, such as bid-rigging, with fines. But the new proposal calls...
Stories filled with tragic bravery, outrage at heedless officials and horror as loved ones perished were among those shared by 24 residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate, as they testified at a public hearing investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. Over multiple sessions that began on March 19, some told the presiding committee how their repeated efforts to raise bid-rigging and safety concerns about the estate’s exterior renovation fell on deaf ears, well before the...
An official tendering system designed to curb anti-competitive conduct is powerless to combat engineering firms colluding to manipulate Hong Kong’s lucrative building maintenance market, a public inquiry into the city’s deadliest fire in decades has heard. Testifying on the 21st day of an independent committee’s hearing, three Urban Renewal Authority (URA) officials said on Thursday that the statutory body had neither the capacity nor the resources to combat bid-rigging linked to estates’...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating the deadly blaze at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court residential estate held its 21st day of evidential hearings on Thursday. Three witnesses from the Urban Renewal Authority gave evidence. URA case manager Matthew Chan Yat-ho, said the authority was aware of the practice of bid-rigging in the building maintenance sector, but...
