Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the International Competition Network Annual Conference 2016

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY (TRADE), AT THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION NETWORK ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2016, 27 APRIL 2016, 9.20AM, MARINA BAY SANDS

Mr. Andreas Mundt, ICN Steering Group Chairman and President, Bundeskartellamt 

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

A very good morning

1          It gives me great pleasure to be here at the International Competition Network (ICN) Annual Conference 2016. Singapore is honoured to host this conference, bringing together about 550 international delegates from 81 economies. To all our international friends, a warm welcome to Singapore.

Singapore’s long association with competition policy and law at a global and regional level

2          Singapore has had a long association with competition policy and law.  Twenty years ago, Singapore hosted the first World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference.  Singapore was a member of the working group which explored the possibility of having a WTO Competition Law Framework.  Although the framework was eventually not pursued at the WTO, the dialogue on competition issues continued under the ICN, a network formed in 2001 by top anti-trust officials from 14 jurisdictions. 

3          The ICN has members from more than 120 jurisdictions today, and is a significant player in the global competition landscape.  It plays a major role in facilitating cooperation among competition agencies, and promotes effective enforcement to address anti-trust issues such as those that arise from multi-jurisdictional mergers and the interface between trade and competition.  

4          Since the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS)’s inception in 2005, Singapore has been a regular participant at the ICN’s annual conference, and at the workshops of the various ICN working groups.  Singapore has also benefitted from the ICN members’ sharing of recommended practices, including case handling and enforcements. 

5          Singapore has also contributed to the ICN.  In 2010 and 2013, Singapore collaborated with Professor Richard Whish, an eminent international competition expert from King’s College London, and the US Free Trade Commission to develop resources for the ICN project on market definition and investigation procedures for abuse of dominance cases.  Singapore also hosted the first regional ICN Unilateral Conduct Workshop in 2012.   

6          Singapore is actively involved in competition policy at the global and regional levels.  CCS is an active participant in the various international fora, including the ICN programmes, and will continue to strongly support and contribute to initiatives, particularly on the ASEAN front. 

Competition Policy and Law as an enabler for economic growth in ASEAN

7          As the world’s seventh largest economy, ASEAN has a market of over 600 million consumers, and a combined GDP of USD 3 trillion in 2014[1].  Since the adoption of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) blueprint in 2007, ASEAN has seen its total trade increase by nearly USD 1 trillion[2].  Almost 26% of trade in ASEAN in 2015 was due to intra-ASEAN trade.  ASEAN is also expected to enjoy rapid and sustained growth with an annual projected average growth of 5.2% from 2016 to 2020[3].  This offers a huge potential for businesses.  

8          To tap on the region’s economic potential, the AEC was formed in 2015 with participation from all 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS).  The AEC aims to remove economic barriers, and facilitate free flow of trade and investments in the region, paving the way for ASEAN to achieve its economic and development goals.  The AEC also aims to transform ASEAN into a competitive regional market through the implementation of measures under four AEC pillars.  These are a single market and production base, a highly-competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated with the global economy.

9          Competition is key to enabling the AEC’s economic vision.  Competition encourages businesses to become more efficient and productive so as to have an edge over their competitors in the market.  Competition also drives businesses to innovate, such as tapping on technology to improve their processes, and creating new products and services.  Consumers also benefit from better prices and service options.

10        Competition policy and law ensures that markets are open to new entrants while allowing businesses compete on a level playing field.  With this in mind, under the AEC Blueprint 2015, the ASEAN Member States pledged to implement competition laws by 2015.  Today, 9 of the 10 ASEAN Member States have implemented competition laws.

Key Developments in Competition Policy and Law in ASEAN

11        Building on the AEC Blueprint 2015, ASEAN will further enhance and harmonise competition policies and laws in the region under AEC 2025.  Even though there are differences in the implementation of competition policy and law among the ASEAN economies due to different stages of economic development, members agree that there is a need to have a consistent approach to reach out to relevant stakeholders.  This is to ensure that competition policy and law is consistent and understood across the region. 

12        Competition advocacy is of particular importance to ASEAN.  With the introduction of competition policy and law, private and public sector stakeholders will have to adapt their existing policies and practices to comply with competition law.  Raising awareness in jurisdictions where competition policy is new can be a considerable challenge.  To help address this, CCS chaired a Working Group to develop a toolkit for Competition Policy and Law Advocacy in ASEAN.  The toolkit provides guidance for ASEAN Member States when they embark on their advocacy initiatives with various stakeholders.  I am pleased to share that the toolkit is completed, and is available at the conference today.  We trust that ASEAN Member States will find the toolkit useful for their advocacy efforts to create a fair competition culture in the region.  In the long run, this will help attract more business investments, and encourage innovation by providing a level playing field for all businesses, thereby contributing to economic growth for the region.

13        AEC 2025 will also take steps towards greater alignment of competition policy and law, and achieve closer cooperation among competition authorities in ASEAN.  This is becoming increasingly important as businesses internationalise and engage in increasingly complex cross-border business activities.  For example, the AEC 2025 Blueprint has identified several priority sectors, such as e-commerce, which ASEAN Member States will focus their efforts on in the coming years.  Consistent rules and enforcement among ASEAN Member States when dealing with these growth sectors will increase certainty for businesses across ASEAN, enhance intra-ASEAN trade and investments, and improve ASEAN’s competitiveness on a global scale. 

14        Another focus of the AEC 2025 is to develop a regional strategy on convergence to align competition policy chapters negotiated by ASEAN Member States under their respective Free Trade Agreements.  Agencies will also work towards establishing competition enforcement cooperation agreements either on a bilateral or multilateral basis.  Such agreements facilitate the sharing of information, and coordination of enforcement.  This will foster greater regional integration and alignment, as well as enable competition bodies to be better placed to handle cross border competition cases in the region.  

15        CCS will contribute towards the goal of alignment of competition policy and law in ASEAN by leading efforts to develop an ASEAN Competition Policy and Law (CPL) Programme.  The CPL Programme will promote collaboration amongst competition agencies in ASEAN, and foster a culture of fair competition to create a level playing field for all businesses.  Closer relationships between businesses, government agencies and competition authorities are the basis for greater convergence and harmonisation of competition policy and law regimes.  This would reduce the transactional costs and uncertainty for businesses that operate across different jurisdictions. 

16        To create a competitive, innovative and dynamic ASEAN, we need to foster a “competition-aware” region that supports fair competition through the establishment of platforms for regular exchange and engagement. Currently, there is no regular forum that brings together ASEAN government officials, and competition authorities, to discuss competition policy and law with local businesses expanding overseas.  The CPL Programme aims to bridge that gap through two initiatives.  The first initiative provides a platform that will bring together businesses from the AEC Blueprint priority sectors, senior officials from ASEAN government agencies, and experts in their fields.  This platform will provide opportunities for participants to network and build relationships.  The second initiative focuses on building technical capabilities through workshops and staff attachments across government agencies, including competition authorities.  The CPL Programme is targeted to start this year. 

Conclusion

17        Competition enables efficient functioning and openness of our markets, so that businesses thrive through productivity and innovation.  Today’s ICN Conference serves as an excellent platform to bring together competition agencies to share ideas, experiences and recommended practices on competition policy and law issues to help strengthen capacities and competencies, and facilitate cooperation to deal effectively with multi-jurisdictional issues.

18        I wish everyone a rewarding and a fruitful conference, and for our overseas guests, a very pleasant stay in Singapore.  Thank you.

[1] Based on ASEAN (2014), ‘Thinking Globally, Prospering Regionally: ASEAN Economic Community 2015’ via MTI ASEAN AEC Handbook  

[2] http://www.asean.org/storage/2015/12/AEC-at-a-Glance-2015.pdf

[3] OECD Development Centre’s Publication on ‘Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2016  

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