The first quarter of 2025 has seen much upheaval in the global economic sphere. Perhaps most notably, the US has imposed groundbreaking tariffs on a large number of countries, including China and other nations in the region (albeit subject to a temporary pause for certain tariffs). This has prompted a variety of responses by governments and regulators, and has influenced policy shifts in areas of commerce such as trade, competition, and inter-government agreements. As a region with close economic ties to both US and China, Southeast Asia has certainly felt the impact the ongoing tariff crossfire. Even as these issues relate to trade, how businesses respond to such issues could raise many a competition concern, and hence caution is required.
At the regional level, there has been significant competition and consumer protection activity. Regulators in Southeast Asia have issued various decisions on competition law enforcement, including merger clearances, whilst continuing to improve cross-border competition law cooperation through agreements with one another. It is a reflection of a more mature competition environment where a watchful eye on transactions and commercial behaviour that may violate competition laws is kept, while imposing significant penalties and fines in certain cases to highlight the severity of such violations. There is also increased regional cooperation in the recent months, demonstrating that regional authorities are working closely to address competition and consumer issues, some of which may have cross-border implications. To keep you informed on the latest regional developments, we are pleased to present the Q1 2025 edition of our Regional Competition Bites, which looks at the major events of 2025 thus far.
On investigations, we start with Thailand, where the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand is investigating potential competition concerns arising from a building that collapsed during the earthquake that struck Bangkok, an investigation one would be surprised has been triggered but is entirely relevant, and has also issued a decision on unfair practices in digital platforms for transport services. In Indonesia, the Indonesia Competition Commission has been busy on a number of active matters, including imposing a record fine on Google for allegedly requiring mandatory implementation of its own billing system by application developers, imposing penalties on a machine manufacturing company for colluding to obtain a competitor’s trade secrets, investigating the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the midstream market for alleged monopolistic practices, and investigating alleged bid-rigging in a prolific infrastructure project for the supply of train units. In Singapore, a lifestyle products manufacturer has had to provide an undertaking to improve transparency in its product information following concerns raised over its business practices relating to product endorsement, product standards, and pricing. In Malaysia, the Malaysia Competition Commission has imposed a fine on a bid-rigging cartel in relation to tenders for public works, while the Malaysian Court of Appeal has issued a decision upholding the quashing of a proposed fine against an e-hailing operator for alleged abuse of dominant market position.
On mergers and other forms of cooperation, starting with Singapore, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has granted conditional approvals for a joint venture and a cooperation respectively in the airline industry, cleared a proposed acquisition in the semiconductor industry, and completed public consultations on proposed mergers in the medical oncology industry and in the advertising and marketing industry. In Indonesia, the Indonesia Competition Commission has conditionally approved a commercial cooperation between two airlines following commitments from the parties, and has imposed a fine for late submission of a mandatory merger notification in the automotive industry. In the Philippines, the Philippines Competition Commission has approved a proposed merger between electronic payment service system providers following voluntary commitments to alleviate abuse of dominance concerns arising from the merged entity.
On the policy and regulation front, competition agencies have shown a keen interest in improving cross-border cooperation capabilities through international cooperation agreements. They have also engaged in market studies in key industries to assess pertinent competition issues. Cambodia and Philippines have entered into an agreement to enhance competition law enforcement, while Philippines and Thailand have entered into an agreement to strengthen collaboration in competition law enforcement. On the same track, Vietnam has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on consumer protection. Vietnam has also effected amendments strengthening administrative penalties on commerce, production and trade in counterfeit and prohibited goods, and the protection of consumer rights. In Thailand, a public hearing has been launched on key competition regulations to determine their effectiveness and continued relevance. In Malaysia, an interim report has been published following a market review exercise on the Malaysian digital economy ecosystem. In Singapore, a pilot project has been launched for major supermarkets to display unit prices for selected grocery items so as to allow greater pricing transparency for consumers.
From the above, we can only remind businesses to keep abreast of competition law and consumer protection developments and ensure compliance with competition laws at all levels of their operations.
The Rajah & Tann Asia Competition & Antitrust Team remains committed to staying abreast of the dynamic landscape of competition law in the region and stands ready to assist. Please reach out to us if you wish to further discuss these developments.
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Rajah & Tann Asia is a network of member firms with local legal practices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Our Asian network also includes our regional office in China as well as regional desks focused on Brunei, Japan and South Asia. Member firms are independently constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local requirements.
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