Asia Pacific Competition Law Bulletin September 2018

Welcome to the 5th 2018 edition of our bi-monthly Asia Pacific Competition Law Bulletin. This bulletin is a collaborated product with our Linklaters colleagues (China and Thailand) and our Allens colleagues (Australia and Vietnam). Expert local law firms who contributed to this edition include: TT&A (India), Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (Japan), Rahmat Lim & Partners (Malaysia), Allen & Gledhill LLP (Singapore) and Lee & Ko (South Korea). We hope that you continue to find this newsletter a useful source of information on competition law issues across the Asia Pacific region.

Merger control takes the headlines in this edition. In Australia, the authority took its first “gun-jumping” case. The China’s new regulator SAMR imposed remedies on the Essilor/Luxottica merger. In India, the local competition watchdog unconditionally approved Walmart ’s acquisition a leading e-commerce trading platform in the country. In Japan, the authority approved concentration of local banks. The Singaporean regulator issued its third conditional clearance since its establishment.

There have also been a number of legislative and institutional developments in the region. The Indian authorities commenced public consultation on the merger rules and clarified that acquisition of insolvent companies require ex ante merger clearance. South Korea and Vietnam have both launched full scale reformation of their respective competition law regimes. New commission members have been appointed to the Thai competition authority and five draft regulations have been published. Meanwhile, New Zealand launched a cartel whistleblowing tool and updated its leniency guidelines.

Last but not least, we also look at the enforcement front. In Australia, the authority caught up is pace in taking criminal proceedings against cartel. The Hong Kong Competition Commission commenced its first enforcement against individuals, while the local court issued directions in the first transferral case. In Malaysia, the regulator issued a proposed monopoly decision.

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