Independent Newspapers said a recent ruling from the British Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on the below-cost selling of newspapers could have implications in the Republic.

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting in Dublin, chief executive Mr Liam Healy said the company, through the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI), had asked the Republic's regulatory bodies to study the implications of the ruling.

Published on May 21st, it said News International, controlled by Mr Rupert Murdoch, "deliberately made a loss on the Times between June 1996 and January 1998 when the Monday edition was sold for 10p".

It added that such a practice could not be allowed again unless News International was able to provide a rationale for the price cut and a detailed financial statement explaining why it was necessary. Independent Newspapers is now considering legal action against News International on the back of the ruling, Mr Healy said.

After the ruling was published, Mr John Bridgman, the director general of the OFT, said he had been given a commitment by News International that it would not cut the price of the Times.

The chairman of Independent Newspapers, Dr Tony O'Reilly, told the annual general meeting that the ruling effectively banned below-cost selling in Britain, which would mean increased profits at the group's title, the Independent, mainly at the expense of the Times.

Mr Gavin O'Reilly, managing director of Independent Newspapers Ireland, said he was hoping the ruling could be incorporated into "Irish regulations" as British titles like the Irish Sun and the Irish Mirror had engaged in below-cost selling on several occasions.

He said the ruling "at least sets a floor" on the issue of predatory pricing that should be seriously considered in an Irish context.

Independent Newspapers was joined in its complaint to the OFT by the Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers.