Philippines Steps Up Regional Edge In Antitrust Law Enforcement
The Philippines is gradually transforming into a regional leader in the enforcement of antitrust laws as the Southeast Asian country jumped to 5th place in 2018's Asia-Pacific policy records.
According to local newspaper The Philippine Star, competition news and analysis firm Policy and Regulatory Report (PaRR) revealed in its 2019 "Global Trends Monitor" report that the Philippines stepped up three places higher in the top 10 Asia-Pacific list of economies that allow for fair competition in trade and business.
PaRR's report noted that the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) enhanced its authority, thus strengthening the monitoring activities of markets or trade practices that could be hampering growth in some business sectors in the country.
"The Philippine Competition Commission is strengthening its enforcement framework this year with the introduction of a leniency program and the addition of rules on forbearance and dawn raids to its arsenal of investigative tools," part of the report stated.
Last year, the Philippine antitrust agency recorded a total of 40 acquisition transactions and mergers, accounting for PHP438 billion. Of the M&A transactions recorded, 33 were given the approval to proceed with the projects.
In April, the agency released a draft of guidelines that seek to benefit joint ventures. The merger notification threshold for Philippine exchange was also raised to PHP5 billion.
This year, the PCC is looking to focus on chain logistics, petroleum refining, sugar and pesticides manufacturing, corn milling and trading, and other trading programs that seek to enhance fair exchange in the Philippines, the report added.
Another country that made a significant rise in the ranks is Indonesia. The report found that Indonesia has climbed to 6th place, one level higher from its 7th spot record in 2017. The top three economies in antitrust enforcement practices are China, Australia, and South Korea respectively.
AEC News Today reported that Indonesia appointed new competition commissioners as part of its efforts in enforcing antitrust policies. This move also echoed the ASEAN member nations' October move of establishing the Asean Competition Enforcers Network - a program that encourages Asean states to cooperate on competition cases.
Other Asian countries also joined the fight against unfair trade standards as Myanmar eased its foreign investment rules last year and Singapore approved amendments to its competition law.
For its part in the global reinvention of antitrust policies, Vietnam fined companies that engaged in anticompetitive conduct, including Grab. In addition, Thailand finally granted conditional clearance to Glow Energy to imply its willingness in the Asia-Pacific region's goals of providing the trade industry with justifiable practices that will benefit both giants, small, and medium-sized operations.
No comments:
Post a Comment