ArcelorMittal SA to hear fine appeal verdict Fri
JOHANNESBURG, May 27 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal SA (ACLJ.J), the South African unit of the world's No. 1 steel maker, will know on Friday the fate of its appeal against a fine of 691.8 million rand ($83.28 million) for charging "excessive" prices on its flat steel products.
South Africa's Competition Appeal Court in Cape Town will decide whether to uphold or dismiss the decision by the country's Competition Tribunal to fine ArcelorMittal 5.5 percent of its total turnover of 12.76 billion rand earned on flat steel in both the local and export market during 2003.
The record fine was imposed in September, 2007 by the tribunal, which found ArcelorMittal had contravened the Competition Act by charging an excessive price for its flat steel products to the detriment of consumers.
The tribunal also imposed certain behavioural remedies aimed at reducing the segmentation that ArcelorMittal's pricing regime had created in the market for flat steel products.
Gold miners Harmony Gold (HARJ.J) and DRDGOLD (DRDJ.J) lodged the complaints of excessive pricing against ArcelorMittal with the tribunal in 2004, claiming that the steel firm was contravening competition law and abusing its market dominance by over-charging for steel products in the domestic market.
The world's biggest maker of steel, ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS)(MT.N) owns about 52 percent of the South African unit. ($1=8.307 Rand) (Reporting by James Macharia; editing by Simon Jessop)
