East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy
Post-event Statement
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This conference was successfully held in collaboration with the Department of Internal Trade of Thailand and the Japan Fair Trade Commission. It involved officials from competition authorities throughout East Asia, as well as academics, international organizations, and the business community. The exchange of views and experiences with competition law and policy strengthened understanding and regional cooperation in an area of growing concern and importance for the region's further development. Papers and presentations are available online.*
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Background
The benefits of an open market economy cannot be realized unless restrictions on competition are removed. Sectors with characteristics of natural monopolies, such as utilities and telecommunications, have to be subjected to competition law or regulation to prevent any abuse of their dominant positions. In addition, price liberalization that is not accompanied by competition law and policy can lead to price increases if monopolistic structures are allowed to remain. Trade and investment liberalization may also bring in more market players, but those agents can abuse their dominant positions if no competition policy is in place.
Competition authorities have to watch out for practices such as market-sharing agreements, predatory pricing, and cartelization, which allow the benefits of liberalization to accrue to firms instead of to consumers. In general, government policy must promote competition to ensure efficient resource allocation while providing incentives for innovation. Of particular relevance is the fact that while many countries are moving to implement or strengthen their competition policies, none appear to be moving towards repealing them.
In many developing countries, the benefits of competition policy have yet to emerge visibly, because enforcement has been hampered by lack of resources, reliable data, or sufficient information about production costs, market shares, and consumer behavior. But competition authorities have played an important role in the formulation of liberalization, privatization, and deregulation policies, ensuring that their objectives are growth inducing.
In light of the above, ADBI will cosponsor the 2006 East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy with the Fair Trade Commission of Japan and the Government of Thailand. It will involve the competition authorities of eleven countries in the region, together with academic experts and business community.
Objectives
To have an open and candid exchange of views and opinions on competition policies, reflecting the diverse experiences and situations in each of the participating countries.
How to Apply
ADBI and the Japan Fair Trade Commission will invite speakers and discussants.
Language
English
Cosponsors
Japan Fair Trade Commission, Government of Thailand.
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