ASEAN Establishes Competition Enforcers’ Network, Regional Cooperation Framework, and Virtual Research Centre

The ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (“AEGC”) has established the ASEAN Competition Enforcers’ Network (“ACEN”) to facilitate cooperation on competition cases in the region and to serve as a platform to handle cross-border cases. The first meeting of the ACEN was held on 9 October 2018 on the side-lines of the 22nd AEGC Meeting, which was hosted by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) from 8 to 10 October 2018.

The AEGC also launched the Virtual ASEAN Competition Research Centre (“Virtual Centre”). The Virtual Centre hosts (a) a repository of research articles which are useful reference for researchers and competition authorities examining competition issues in the region; (b) a database of profiles of researchers / academics with an interest on competition policy and law in the region; and (c) a section on promoting research collaboration on competition in ASEAN. The Virtual Centre can be accessed at https://asean-competition.org/research/ 

As current Chair of the AEGC, CCCS also led other initiatives to strengthen the enforcement of competition policy and law in ASEAN, increase the awareness of competition policy and law in the region, and create a level playing field for companies operating in the region. These initiatives include the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Cooperation Framework and development of the ASEAN Competition Compliance Toolkit.

More details can be found in the media release.