The Superintendency of Competition has approved a request made by the company in January 2014 to acquire eight gasoline stations in the country.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Competition in El Salvador:
The Board of the Superintendencia de Competencia (SC) resolved to authorize the application for a merger between Alba Petróleos de El Salvador de SEM de CV resulting from the purchase of eight service stations.
The company owned by Venezuela and a group of municipalities from the ruling party continue to diversify; now they sell water and finance housing projects.
The Alba business conglomerate announced through José Luis Merino, Alba Petróleos advisor and coordinator of the ruling FMLN party, that it is to add a new business to those already it established in El Salvador since it came into the country in 2006.
The company was fined $759,924 for failing to petition the Salvadorian Superintendency of Competition to approve to purchase of nine service stations.
In addition to the financial penalty, the Superintendencia de Competencia (SC) demanded that the company submit within 30 days an application to follow the procedure which should have been done in the beginning.
The superintendency of competition has began the investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Alba Petroleos.
"After analyzing the formal request by the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP) (February 5), the Superintendence of Competition has launched an official investigation (February 13, 2013), with the intention of determining whether Alba Petroleum had or had not violated the Competition Act through merging its businesses," noted an article in Elsalvador.com.
Alba Alimentos may buy 70% of the shares belonging to Precosal who recently entered the Salvadoran rice market.
Elsalvador.com reports that the company, owned by members of the FMLN, may make a request for the award of 20% of the market, which is viewed by industrialists as breaking the rules of the game which have prevailed in the sector.
"The agreement for marketing rice, which is reviewed every year, establishes a price of $19 per quintal of wet grain, in an operation performed by the Stock Exchange of Goods and