Lau Hak-bun, president of the Kowloon Pearls, Precious Stones, Jade, Gold and Silver Ornament Merchants Association, told the Post it was not viable to ditch the 50-year industry-wide practice because the price recommendations were meant to give its more than 600 members a reference. Members did not have to follow the recommendations.
He said the association officially applied to be exempted from the ordinance yesterday, though the Competition Commission - the statutory body established to enforce the ordinance - did not specify how long it would take to make a ruling.
"We'll continue to release price recommendations tomorrow after consulting our lawyers," Lau said.
As for any possible consequences, he said: "We don't have any control at this moment".
Commission chairwoman Anna Wu Hung-yuk said the watchdog had received fewer than 10 applications for exemptions and about 500 complaints and inquiries.
"Applying for an exemption doesn't exclude you from legal liabilities," she said. Applications might not be entertained and any information submitted to the regulatory body could be used as evidence to investigate the applicants, Wu explained. "You should be very careful when applying for an exemption."
With stores free to set their own prices, a price war emerged among electronics retailers.
Kim Li, operation director of Suning, one of the top three electronics chains in Hong Kong, said it had cut prices of some smartphones by up to 15 per cent last Saturday, following similar moves by two other big chains.
"The rules of the industry wouldn't allow us to have such heavy discounts before," Li said, adding that the retail prices of electronic products were under strict control and if retailers did not follow the price recommendations of suppliers, their supplies could be cut off.
Li said there were no signs of sales picking up during the Christmas season, and cutting prices by 15 per cent meant almost "no profit at all".
"I wonder how long retailers can endure such low prices," he said.
Lawmaker Frankie Yick Chi-ming, who joined the Land Transportation Alliance yesterday in lobbying for a fairer fuel market for drivers, said oil companies were "too slow to cut petrol prices" as global crude oil prices kept sliding.
"Oil companies have been quick to raise petrol prices but slow to cut them," said Yick.
He said fuel prices had been adjusted almost simultaneously and set at similar levels among five oil firms in the city, raising concerns that they had