03 Nov 2014

Competition Law in Asia – Protecting (Against) Competition?

Kala Anandarajah, the head of the firm's Competition & Antitrust and Trade Practice, and Tanya Tang, the Principal Economist of the Practice Group, wrote an article titled "Competition Law in Asia – Protecting (Against) Competition?" published in the October 2014 (2) issue of the Competition Policy International (CPI) Antitrust Chronicle. 

The article discusses the issue of whether competition law in Asia has been enforced in line with their stated objectives of protecting the competitive process and encouraging market entry and efficiency for the benefit of consumers, or whether they have been used as a veil for protectionism against foreign firm. The authors looked at the track record of competition authorities in Asia, including China and India, and observe that there is no clear evidence that foreign firms have been unfairly and more heavily targeted by competition authorities in Asia. It is noted that there could be objective justifications as to why foreign firms are more likely to find themselves the subject of antitrust investigations and infringement decisions.

Competition Policy International is a peer-reviewed academic journal that provides comprehensive resources and continuing education for the global antitrust and competition policy community. The Antitrust Chronicle is an online-only bimonthly magazine that produces papers on topical competitive policy topics.