Dear Friends,
Happy 2025! We are pleased to present the latest edition of our Regional Competition Bites, which looks back at the fourth quarter of 2024. This last quarter has remained busy for regulators in Southeast Asia, as reflected by the length of this review which has been selective in its coverage. Apart from a range of cases, the regulators have updated their competition law regulatory frameworks and continue to conduct studies on emerging issues, particularly in relation to e-commerce and digital markets.
On enforcement, regulators have been involved in a significant number of enforcement cases, covering a wide range of competition issues including price-fixing, bid-rigging, and consumer protection. In Singapore, there seemingly is a distinct focus on cartels and, in particular, bid-rigging and collusion. The Competition and Consumer Commission has also heightened its reviews of consumer protection violation, looking at unfair trade practices and misleading statements. Corporates caught include small ones, but also multi-nationals. What was lacking during the COVID-19 years has resurfaced with a number of raids and unannounced visits in the course of investigations. In Indonesia, the Indonesia Competition Commission has likewise focused largely on issues of bid-rigging and collusion, with one interesting investigation involving collusion to obtain a competitor’s trade secrets. Bid-rigging in Indonesia also captures the vertical contracts with the most recent involving a tender committee and a tender participant. The theme of cartel activity continued in Malaysia, where the Malaysia Competition Commission upheld a fine against poultry feed millers for forming a price-fixing cartel, as well as issued a warning against associations announcing price increases and setting minimum prices for goods or services. Interestingly, in Thailand, the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand handled a complaint by a franchisee against the franchisor about terms that had been imposed on the franchisee. The case was dismissed. Note that complaints by businesses against others in the industry have also been increasingly common in the other countries. A lesson point from these updates is that the competition regulators in Southeast Asia do mean business, and corporates are strongly advised to ensure that proper compliance processes are in place, including training.
On mergers, regulators continue to be busy in reviewing merger notifications and have issued a number of approvals for proposed mergers, in the course of which they have provided decisions that clarify key issues of competition law. In Singapore, approval was granted for a proposed acquisition in the marine manufacturing sector, as well as a proposed acquisition of a property technology platform company. In Thailand, a significant decision was issued on pre-merger approval, clarifying whether a foreign company operating in Thailand is subject to the approval requirements. In the Philippines, the Guidelines on Merger Remedies were issued, providing a framework for addressing competition concerns in mergers and acquisitions, with specific provisions for digital markets. In Malaysia, the highly anticipated amendments to the Competition Act to finally introduce a merger control regime in Malaysia are expected to be tabled in February 2025.
The area of policy and regulation has seen much activity in this quarter, with jurisdictions undertaking numerous studies and pursuing legislative changes to deal with the evolving nature of emerging markets and competition concerns. To highlight two, in Indonesia, following Starlink’s entry into the internet services provision industry, authorities have completed a market study on the entry of Low Earth Orbit internet services providers into the industry, whilst in the Philippines, authorities have published a market study addressing competition concerns and regulatory solutions in digital advertising.
Competition law reviews, merger notifications and enforcement continue to be a priority for regulators in Southeast Asia, highlighting the importance of compliance with competition laws, and in addressing competition concerns in any impending market manoeuvres. Friends and clients, please do take this seriously and look into your processes; plan ahead!
The Rajah & Tann Asia Competition & Antitrust Team remains committed to staying abreast of the dynamic landscape of competition law in the region and stands ready to assist. Please reach out to us if you wish to further discuss these developments.
For more information, click here to read the full Legal Update.
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