ISLAMABAD: The Market Intelligence Unit (MIU) of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has achieved a remarkable 92% efficiency rate in processing and referring leads related to anti-competitive practices during the fiscal year 2024-25. This milestone underscores MIU’s growing role in supporting CCP’s enforcement efforts and ensuring fair competition in Pakistan’s evolving market landscape.
Over the past year, the MIU identified more than 170 potential cases of anti-competitive behaviour across a range of sectors. These leads were referred to the relevant departments for further action, with the following outcomes:
1; The Cartels and Trade Abuses (C&TA) Department selected five leads for formal inquiries under Section 37 (1) of the Competition Act, 2010.
2; The Office of Fair Trade (OFT) initiated 28 inquiries based on MIU referrals.
3; All five merger-related leads flagged involved consummated mergers, prompting in-depth scrutiny and potential enforcement actions.
4; Adopting AI for Market Surveillance
5; The MIU’s success is fuelled by the strategic use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced digital tools for market monitoring. These include:
6; Web scraping techniques to systematically collect data from digital platforms.
7; Utilization of Google Cloud Vision AI and Microsoft Azure AI to extract and analyze market intelligence from visual and textual data.
These capabilities have enhanced MIU’s ability to proactively detect collusion, deceptive marketing, and abuse of dominance.
The MIU continues to be a key pillar in CCP’s enforcement structure by providing actionable intelligence that leads to investigations and shapes policy direction. These insights help initiate sectoral studies and advocacy campaigns, assisting the Commission anticipate market distortions and emerging competition threats.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
