Hong Kong Bar Association backs criminalising bid-rigging, urges clear definitions
The Hong Kong Bar Association supports government plans to amend the Competition Ordinance to criminalise bid-rigging in building maintenance. It calls for clear definitions of offence elements. The association also proposes dual-envelope tenders and shared fire safety duties.
The Hong Kong government plans to amend the Competition Ordinance and the Buildings Ordinance, among other legislation, and aims to submit the bills to the Legislative Assembly within the year to address bid-rigging in building maintenance.
The Hong Kong Bar Association’s Tai Po Fire Legal Research Task Force has issued a report containing about 50 recommendations for amendments to at least six existing laws. The proposals cover bid-rigging, tender specifications, declarations of interest, and engineering safety risks. They aim to ensure transparency in the tender evaluation process, break interest chains, and curb anti-competitive conduct.
The government has stated that it will introduce a criminal offence specifically targeting bid-rigging in building maintenance. The Bar Association said it supports in principle amending the Competition Ordinance to criminalise bid-rigging, running the new criminal enforcement regime in parallel with the existing civil enforcement system under the same ordinance. The association stressed that the elements of the new criminal offence — including the definition of bid-rigging, the burden of proof, and the required criminal intent — must be clearly defined.
Regarding proposed amendments to the Building Management Ordinance, the Bar Association recommended that when a owners’ corporation project exceeds a specified value, tenders must be submitted using a “dual-envelope” system, with separate technical and price proposals. For the Fire Services Ordinance, the association proposed introducing a statutory duty requiring property management companies to share responsibility with owners for maintaining fire safety equipment.