Between January and December 2021, Gabon did not adopt any new competition regulations.

The competition regime in the Gabonese Republic is governed by the following domestic law and Community legislation:

• Regulation n° 06/19-UEAC-639-CM-33 of 7 April 2019 on competition;
• Directive n° 01/19-UEAC-639-CM-33 of 8 April 2019 on the institutional organisation in CEMAC Member States for the application of Community competition rules;
• Regulation No. 000350 on the procedure for the application of competition rules;
• Law No. 014/98 of 23 July 1998 establishing the competition regime in the Gabonese Republic; and
• Decree No. 00665/PR/MEFBP of 9 August 2004 on the creation, competence and organisation of the Directorate-General for Competition and Consumer Affairs.

Under the provisions of Article 22 of Decree No. 00665/PR/MEFBP of 9 August 2004 on the creation, powers and organisation of the Directorate General for Competition and Consumer Affairs (“DGCC”), the DGCC’s Fraud Control and Litigation Directorate may carry out periodic inspections and report on and punish any infringement of competition regulations in the Gabonese Republic.

According to local counsel’s exchanges with the DGCC, investigations are carried out periodically and can be launched at any time during a financial year on the orders of the hierarchy according to the instructions issued by it. The DGCC has jurisdiction over all sectors/industries in the Gabonese Republic.

For the time being, no market investigations are currently underway. However, market investigations may be carried out annually on all sectors/industries.

Yes. The Competition Authority has, on several occasions, publicly expressed its concern in relation to the supply of water, electricity and general foodstuffs. These statements by the Competition Authority are generally focused on consumer protection, in terms of the quality of services and products provided, and on the control of the approved prices of certain commodities.

Besides the Competition Authority, it is primarily the press, certain trade unions and NGOs that often question the government and public opinion on the anticompetitive practices observed in certain sectors, notably energy, water, cement, transport and wood.

The Competition Authority has not formally identified specific sectors as strategic or key sectors for the purposes of competition law enforcement.

However, the Community Regulation identifies sectors that may be considered strategic or key for Member States in the context of competition law enforcement. Specifically, Article 5 of Regulation n°06/19-UEAC-639-CM-33 of 7 April 2019 on competition in the CEMAC zone (“CEMAC Competition Regulation”) mention the following sectors of activity: agriculture; insurance; audio-visual; civil aviation; banking; water; forestry; energy; oil; ports; telecommunications; and transport.

No. According to local counsel’s exchanges with the DGCC, these controls are infrequent.

Moreover, the DGCC indicated that they had not received any instruction from the Minister in charge of the economy, in accordance with the provisions of Article 35 of Law No. 014/1998 of 23 July 1998 establishing the competition regime (“Law Establishing the Competition Regime”), requesting them to investigate whether legal acts or operations constituting the concentration had been concluded or entered into by companies in the meantime.

In accordance with Articles 42 to 44 of the Law Establishing the Competition Regime, the DGCC has the right to conduct unannounced investigations by day and by night on the instructions of the Minister in charge of the Economy. In this respect, the competent agents may, on presentation of their professional cards and subject to the regulations in force:

• ask any natural or legal person to provide documents relating to their activities;
• visit any industrial, commercial, agricultural, craft or cooperative establishment;
• require copies and, if necessary, seize documents that they consider necessary for their investigation; and
• access the service documents of any public administration, notwithstanding the seal of secrecy

Yes. The Competition Authority has introduced new competition enforcement measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of these measures is to freeze the prices of products used in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, in particular hydro alcoholic gels and masks, as set out in Order No. 73/MEF of 16 March 2020.

Yes. The Competition Authority has introduced new competition enforcement measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of these measures is to freeze the prices of products used in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, in particular hydro alcoholic gels and masks, as set out in Order No. 73/MEF of 16 March 2020.

Yes. The Competition Authority has played a proactive role in the fight against pricing practices but has not concluded settlement agreements with companies in this context.

In the fight against corporate pricing practices, the DGCC has initiated two decrees subjecting imported foodstuffs of first necessity to the price freeze and controlled freedom regimes respectively adopted by the Gabonese government on 13 May 2019 and 14 April 2020.

The main purpose of these texts were to fix, for a period of six months, the maximum wholesale, semi-wholesale and retail prices of certain imported essential products in Libreville and in the provincial capitals, the list of which appeared in the annex to each of the two orders.

The DGCC has also initiated a draft text in response to the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at curbing the rising prices of hydro alcoholic gels and masks. On 16 March 2020, the government adopted the draft text and issued Order No. 73/MEF setting the price framework for hydro alcoholic gels and masks. The purpose of this order is to freeze the prices of products used in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In principle, the Competition Authority is required to respect the principle of freedom of prices and trade enshrined in Articles 2 and 4 of the Law Establishing the Competition Regime. On its official website, the DGCC states that “with the exception of prices of products regulated by the State, the setting of the price of a product or a service obeys the law of the market”.

No. The Competition Authority has not adopted any new regulations or measures applicable to companies operating in the digital market space.

However, it is important to note that according to Articles 3 and 4 of the CEMAC Competition Regulation, companies operating in the digital market space are subject to the competition legislation in force regardless of their geographical location, sector or nature of their activities, as long as they are likely to have an effect on competition in the said area.

Moreover, on the homepage of the DGCC’s official website, a note from its Director General states that in practice, the DGCC intervenes on the one hand, on the entire value chain of food and non-food consumption as well as services, and on the other hand, on all stages of economic activity, from production, processing, imports to distribution. In short, the DGCC has broad powers of intervention, regardless of the form of trade concerned, whether it is a shop or an e-commerce site.

Following local counsel’s exchanges with the DGCC, to date the Competition Authority has not yet identified any industries, sectors or markets that it considers to be concentrated.