Introduction
1. There is a common public perception that the retail petrol market in
Singapore, being an oligopoly among a few large, international and verticallyintegrated
petroleum enterprises, is uncompetitive or even collusive. In particular,
many consumers are under the impression that retail petrol prices are similar among
competitors, move in tandem across companies (known as „price parallelism‟), and
rise more/faster than they fall (known as the „rocket-and-feather‟ phenomenon).
2. On the other hand, petrol market players have suggested that the shortage of
land allocated for petrol stations is the main obstacle to making the retail petrol
market more competitive in Singapore.
3. We have recently completed a market inquiry into the retail petrol market in
Singapore to better understand the dynamics of this market. Using information
obtained from market players1
, relevant government agencies and industry experts,