The Competition Commission released on March 9 the Digital Market Landscape study (Digital Market Study), which empowers the Executive Director to assess the effectiveness of competition across individual sectors of the economy.
The Executive Director has prioritised the Digital Market Study, taking into account the increasing importance of the digital economy, with benefits trickling to consumers, businesses, and the economy at large.
Consumers can avail of benefits such as the convenience of shopping online, potentially lower transaction costs, and increased choice, while businesses can leverage digital platforms to help expand their customer base.
Taking into account clear benefits offered by digital technologies and at the same time, its impact on market functioning, the Digital Market Study has been launched to better gauge the competition intricacies around digital markets and help gain a high-level understanding of the state of play and potential competition issues in the local digital market landscape.
The study also covered the various types of transactional and non-transactional digital platforms, including e-commerce, hotel booking, ticketing, taxi-hailing, and mobile payments, among others. The report also concluded that Mauritius, on the whole, has a strong digital foundation with adequate ICT infrastructure and reliable internet connectivity.
Among key takeaways, the ICT sector is supported by conducive policies with ongoing legislative reforms to modernise the legal framework, enhance trust and security, and foster broader digital adoption through adaptive and forward-looking regulation.
On one hand, the local online platforms such as those for e-commerce, food delivery, and taxi hailing are still at a nascent stage. While online platforms such as digital payments, hotel and ticket bookings have reached a greater level of market maturity.
It also advocated a need to ensure regulatory certainty and interoperability within those markets is of increasing importance. Regulatory reforms may be warranted in markets such as taxi hailing.
Executive Director of the Competition Commission, Mr. Vipin Naugah, stated: “Digital platforms have revolutionized the way markets operate, creating great opportunities for society. Digital platforms help boost communication and connectivity around the world so that businesses can reach a wider consumer base, and consumers can enjoy a broader choice of products and compare this broader set of offers from the comfort of their homes. For a small economy like Mauritius, digital markets can be instrumental in breaking geographical barriers and providing global access to local businesses. Online platforms can facilitate the entry of new players, particularly SMEs, by providing them with a marketplace without necessarily having to invest in a physical retail outlet.”
“This could contribute to incentivising competition in the market, where new players can challenge existing enterprises with entrenched market power by offering innovative products. For the development of digital markets, it is imperative to have adequate ICT infrastructure and technology to offer a reliable and affordable internet connection.”
He added: “The regulatory environment should also be conducive to creating trust and protecting users against fraud and other cybercrimes. Digital markets often have distinct characteristics such as multi-sidedness, network effects, zero-pricing, and data reliance, which can lead to market tipping, where one operator captures a substantial share of the market.”
