Group cleared in Australian probe

Carter Holt Harvey is in the clear over the Amcor price-fixing probe in Australia - and in the dark over the Commerce Commission's probe in New Zealand, the company says.

Chief executive Peter Springford yesterday said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission told the company that it had no evidence to suggest the company was involved "in the Amcor issues".

However, the company was "not so sure of what's happening in New Zealand - but I think they've just come back from holidays", Springford said.

Carter Holt wanted to know the reasons the commission put before the district court to get a search warrant on December 10, but the information was still held as confidential.

"We don't know of anything we've done wrong," Springford said.

Amcor has 41.4 per cent of the Australian cardboard box industry. Visy is the other big player.

Carter Holt Harvey has 3 to 4 per cent of the market and was sucked into investigations over its use of a consultancy set up by former Amcor executives, called Australasian Manufacturing Consulting Group.

Springford said the company was retaining the services of the executives until it heard more about the investigations in Australia.

New Zealand's Commerce Commission raided Carter Holt and Visy.

The commission granted Amcor immunity if it helped with its inquiries.