After a year-long investigation by Chinese regulators, seven international shipping companies have been fined US$65 million for fixing prices in a bid to avoid competition on shipping routes between China, Europe and the Americas.
According to the BBC, prices were kept high by Japanese, Korean and European shipping companies by coordinating routes and bids.
Firms have been fined 4-9% of their international shipping sales to and from China.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said: “We will do everything possible to avoid similar situations going forward.”
The NDRC said that over the course of four years, executives met for the purpose of creating deals to avoid competition and to share information.
The companies fined include Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha.
