HEALTHCARE MARKET INQUIRY
Warning on Remgro and Afrocentric surprises healthcare market inquiry
The report was not on the inquiry’s list of planned publications
The size and breadth of Remgro’s and Afrocentric’s financial interests in the private healthcare industry could stifle effective competition, according to a research note published by the Competition Commission’s healthcare market inquiry. The development has caught the industry by surprise, as the report was not on the inquiry’s list of planned publications. The inquiry was established to determine why medical inflation had historically risen faster than consumer price inflation and to determine whether there were barriers to effective competition in private healthcare. SA lacked legislation restricting cross-ownership and cross-directorships and these kinds of arrangements might also inhibit competition, the note reads. Honing in on Remgro and Afrocentric, the inquiry said the scale and scope of their healthcare investments "may allow the groups to substantially influence the commercial and strategic decisions taken by the management of the portfolio firms". "They may even influen...
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