Cement stocks down up to 5% on CCI fine

Competition Commission of India imposed Rs 6,715 crore penalty on 11 cement companies

Cement stocks on Thursday fell up to five per cent after Competition Commission imposed more than Rs 6,700 crore penalty on 11 companies, including ACC and Binani, for cartelisation.

Shares of Jaiprakash Associates declined by 4.97 per cent, ACC fell by 2.55 per cent, Ambuja Cements lost 2.36 per cent and UltraTech Cement went down by 1.71 per cent on BSE.

Apart from penalising the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), the fair trade regulator has directed all the entities to "cease and desist" from indulging in any activity relating to agreement, understanding or arrangement on prices, production and supply of cement in the market.

In a release, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said Rs 6,715-crore penalty has been imposed on 11 cement companies and the CMA.

A fine of Rs 1,147.59 crore has been imposed on ACC, while penalties on Jaiprakash Associates Ltd and Ultratech are Rs 1,323.60 crore and Rs 1,175.49 crore, respectively.

Besides, the regulator also slapped fine on Century (Rs 274.02 crore), India Cements (Rs 187.48 crore), J K Cements (Rs 128.54 crore), Lafarge (Rs 490.01 crore), Ramco (Rs 258.63 crore), ACL (Rs 1,163.91 crore) and Binani (Rs 167.32 crore), according to the release.