Identical bids by linked owners can mean higher prices in govt tenders

Singapore

WHEN public tenders in Singapore receive identical bids from firms with common ownership connections, government contracts can end up being awarded at a higher price, a research study by two academics has found.

In the absence of such ownership networks, winning prices tend to be lower by an average of 4.6 per cent, "suggesting a government savings of over S$4.7 million", said Kentaro Asai from the Australian National University and Ben Charoenwong from the National University of Singapore.

They stressed that their study does not pinpoint the cause of these statistical correlations, but noted that Singapo…