Competition

Policy

Policy
Competition
Competition Policy in ASEAN

ASEAN Member States have, in the ASEAN Economic The launch of these two documents will be
Community (AEC) Blueprint, committed to introduce followed by region-wide socialisation workshops
nation-wide competition policy and law (CPL) by 2015. for government officials and the private sectors for
This is to ensure a level playing field and incubate a advocacy and outreach purposes. A regional Plan
culture of fair business competition for enhanced of Action on Competition Policy 2010-2015 is under
regional economic performance in the long run. design and development. The Plan of Action, based
on the AEC Blueprint, will be drawn up with a special
At present, only Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand focus on capacity building and the introduction of best
and Viet Nam have such laws and competition practices in CPL.
authorities. Cambodia, Malaysia, and Philippines are
in the process of drafting their competition laws. The Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
remaining countries – Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR The road ahead would be challenging. But there
and Myanmar – are in the preliminary stages of nation- will be opportunities as well for Member States to
wide CPL development and have relied on sector-level develop further and/or kick-start economy-wide CPL
policies and regulations to achieve competition policy in moving toward the realisation of a single market
objectives in various domestic markets for productive and production base, in enhancing fair and healthy
factors and final or intermediate goods and services. business competition, and in sustaining the role of
ASEAN as a competitive and meaningful player in the
The ASEAN Experts Group on Competition global and regional supply chains.
(AEGC)
In August 2007, the ASEAN Economic Ministers For more information:
Competition, Consumer Protection and Intellectual Property
endorsed the establishment of the ASEAN Experts
Rights Division
Group on Competition (AEGC) as a regional forum
Thitapha Wattanapruttipaisan (thitapha@asean.org)
to discuss and cooperate on CPL. The AEGC first
met in 2008 and for the next three to five years, has
agreed to focus on building up competition-related
policy capabilities and best practices in Member
States; developing the ASEAN Regional Guidelines
on Competition Policy; and compiling a Handbook
on Competition Policies and Laws in ASEAN for
Businesses. Both the Guidelines and the Handbook
are targeted deliverables under the AEC Blueprint,
and are scheduled for adoption by Member States
in 2010.