Hong Kong sets up task force to tackle building repair bid-rigging
Hong Kong's security chief has formed a joint task force to combat bid-rigging in building maintenance, targeting triad and criminal groups. The team includes police, anti-corruption and competition authorities, and plans to criminalise serious anti-competitive conduct in the sector.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Kong-sing, announced on 30 October that the Chief Executive has tasked him with leading a new joint task force to combat bid-rigging in building maintenance works. The task force will establish a special operation mechanism to target bid-rigging syndicates, enhance intelligence gathering and sharing, and conduct joint enforcement and risk warnings. Its aim is to prevent triads and other criminal groups from infiltrating the estate maintenance industry, uphold fair market competition and protect residents' interests.
Mr Tang said the task force will be coordinated by himself and will include the Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Competition and Consumer Commission (the Commission). The three bodies will upgrade their cooperation from case-by-case coordination to a regular, institutionalised system of intelligence sharing and joint operations. For example, the ICAC may not know the background of certain individuals in a case, but the police may hold information on people linked to triad societies, enabling more effective ICAC investigations.
Under the coordination of the Home Affairs Department, officers will attend owners' corporation meetings of high-risk buildings to identify early any intelligence or signs related to bid-rigging, as such meetings may show warning signs like disputes. Mr Tang noted that companies involved in bid-rigging may have connections with some owners, or may first purchase property to become owners and then join owners' corporations, forming alliances with contractors and professionals. In many cases, the authorities found that directors of different companies were interlinked, so effective intelligence work can expose those involved – the very purpose of setting up the joint task force.
The government plans to amend the Competition Ordinance to criminalise serious anti-competitive conduct related to building maintenance, such as bid-rigging. The new criminal offence will also be included under the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance and the ICAC Ordinance. The Commission's Chief Executive, Mr Peter Pik-yin, said he hopes the amendment can be passed by April 2027.
Asked repeatedly about political responsibility, Mr Tang said the Chief Executive has made a decision on the political team's accountability and that he will follow the leader's decision. 'I am not important; society is important, Hong Kong is important, the country is important,' he said.
