China fines LG, Samsung $28.5m for flat panel screen price fixing

BEIJING (AP) - China has fined South Korea's LG and Samsung, and four Taiwanese companies a total of 144 million yuan (S$28.5 million) for fixing prices of flat panel screens, the government announced on Friday.

The move reflected Beijing's growing enforcement of its laws on pricing and competition against global companies and some Chinese entities to support its economic development goals.

China's economic planning agency said investigators found representatives of LG, Samsung and the four Taiwanese suppliers met dozens of times in 2001-06 to agree on prices to charge for flat-panel screens sold to Chinese manufacturers of computers, TV sets and other electronics. It said that improperly manipulated market prices.

In addition to the fines, the companies were ordered to repay a total of 172 million yuan to Chinese customers, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.