Carrefour Indonesia to appeal anti-trust ruling

JAKARTA, Nov 4 - PT Carrefour Indonesia, the local unit of French retailer Carrefour which was ordered by the anti-monopoly commission to sell its stake in a local firm, will appeal the decision, the firm's lawyer said on Wednesday.

A statement from KPPU, Indonesia's anti-trust agency, said on Tuesday that Carrefour had violated anti-monopoly laws by using its dominant market position to force suppliers to give higher discounts.

Carrefour acquired local retailer PT Alfa Retailindo in January 2008, increasing its market share.

The agency said Carrefour must sell its 79.89 percent stake in Alfa within a year to an unaffiliated firm and also fined the firm 25 billion rupiah ($2.62 million).

"Carrefour cannot accept that ruling because it is an incorrect ruling which does not match the data, testimonies and research," Ignatius Andy, Carrefour's lawyer, told Reuters.

"We will ask the district court to cancel the ruling."

KPPU said that Carrefour had 57.99 percent of suppliers serving them in 2008 after the acquisition, compared to 46.30 percent in 2007.

But Carrefour's lawyer said that its share of the retail market was a more appropriate measure and that was only 17 percent in 2008, based on research by A.C. Nielsen.

Carrefour has 14 days to launch an appeal to the district court over the ruling.

The firm competes with Lippo Group's Hypermart and Giant hypermarket owned by retail firm PT Hero Supermarket Tbk in the world's fourth-most populated country of 226 million people. ($1 = 9,539 rupiah)