3 cement companies fined for price-fixing

A subsidiary of China's largest cement company was fined for antitrust violations on Tuesday, bringing new woes to the embattled industry.

Three cement companies were fined a total of 114 million yuan ($18.5 million) for manipulating cement prices and reaching price-fixing agreements, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday.

North Cement Co Ltd, which is under the umbrella of the State-owned China National Building Materials Group Corp, was fined 40.9 million yuan, equivalent to 1 percent of the company's sales in 2013.