Cineplex 21 rapped for practicing monopoly<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has
\nordered the owner of Cineplex 21 network to reduce its share in
\nthe movie theater business in Surabaya, East Java, because it has
\nviolated Law No. 5\/1999 on unhealthy business competition.<\/p>\n
KPPU said on Tuesday that PT Nusantara Sejahtera Raya (NSR),
\nthe owner of the movie theaters, was involved in unhealthy
\nbusiness competition through its majority ownership in PT Intra
\nMandiri and PT Wedu Mitra, which jointly own more than 50 percent
\nof movie theaters in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
"NSR ownership, therefore, violates Article 27 of Law No.
\n5\/1999 and it must dilute its shares in both companies to comply
\nwith the law," said Faisal Basri, a KPPU executive in charge of
\nthe Cineplex 21 case, at a media conference.<\/p>\n
The commission gave NSR 48 days to comply with the ruling or
\nrisk a Rp 1 billion (about US$112,000) penalty.<\/p>\n
Jimmy Herjanto, vice president for operations of Cineplex 21
\nwho attended the news conference, refused to comment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Zainal Abidin, a senior official at the Indonesian
\nCinema Organization (GPBSI), said after the announcement that he
\nfelt relieved that KPPU had issued a fair ruling and hoped that
\nthe movie theater business could run in a more conducive climate
\nin future.<\/p>\n
"We will take precautions so that there will be no further
\nallegations of monopolistic practices," Zainal said.<\/p>\n
However, Wahyuni Refi of the Monopoly Watch, a non-
\ngovernmental organization that filed the case against Cineplex 21
\nwith the commission, was not satisfied with the ruling, saying it
\nfell far short of her organization's expectations.<\/p>\n
"The KPPU should issue further rulings against Cineplex 21's
\nbusiness practices not only in Surabaya but also in other cities
\nacross the country, especially in Jakarta, in which the unhealthy
\ncompetition is very obvious," she said.<\/p>\n
She said her organization had counted that of all movie
\nscreens, not theaters, across the country, about 59 percent were
\nowned by the Cineplex 21 group, while in Jakarta its ownership
\nreached about 70 percent.<\/p>\n
The commission was not immediately available to comment on the
\nsubject raised by Refi.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, KPPU dismissed allegations of monopolistic
\npractices filed against PT Camila Internusa Film and PT Satrya
\nPerkasa Esthetika Film due to a lack of evidence.<\/p>",
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