State Administration for Market Regulation: Preliminary identification of 18 coal companies suspected of price gouging

The State Administration for Market Regulation announced on August 5 that recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation organized 3 investigation teams to conduct investigations in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi respectively, and initially identified 18 coal companies as suspected of driving up coal prices, and 3 trading centers suspected of not being able to drive up coal prices.
Implement government pricing
.

This investigation highlights three key points
.
The first is to highlight key issues, and conduct key investigations on clues about suspected price gouging and price collusion
.
The second is to highlight key links and firmly hold the key to the "pit price" of coal production enterprises
.
The third is to highlight key areas, focusing on the investigation of coal enterprises in the three main thermal coal producing areas
.

From the perspective of illegal forms, there are the following three main forms of price gouging
.
The first is to substantially increase the sales price to drive up the price.
Coal production enterprises have greatly increased the sales price without significant changes in the cost
.
The second is to increase transaction links, and increase prices at various levels to drive up prices.
Coal production enterprises sell coal to affiliated trading companies, and increase sales through affiliated trading companies to push up prices
.
The third is to sell thermal coal at a high price in the name of chemical coal.
The company signs a confirmation letter in the name of "chemical coal", but the actual sales of thermal coal push up the price by avoiding the price limit of the long-term agreement
.
The main form of non-implementation of government pricing is that individual coal trading centers set up their own projects and set their own charging standards, increasing coal transaction costs
.