Antitrust developments in South-east Asia: October to December 2022

28 February 2023

The fourth quarter of 2022 saw continued merger activity in Singapore and Thailand.

• The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) consulted on three proposed acquisitions in sectors relating to customised market research (CMR) services, aviation, and aviation equipment, and cleared four transactions in the same period.
• The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand issued various decisions relating to the issue of whether foreign corporates are considered business operators under the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560, and accepted 20 merger notifications relating to various industries, including aviation, financial services, food and beverage and real estate development.

With respect to enforcement in Indonesia, the Indonesia Competition Commission (“KPPU”) continued its investigation against an alleged cooking oil cartel comprising 27 entities, and commenced an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices related to the biodiesel fuel industry. KPPU also achieved notable successes in its appeals to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia to uphold its decisions in two cases involving the implementation of a partnership in the poultry farming sector, and pricing in scheduled commercial air transport services for domestic economic class passengers. In particular, the affirmed decision on anti-competitive price fixing in the aviation industry had considered the implications of Covid-19 on the aviation industry, and demonstrated KPPU’s willingness to consider alternatives to monetary penalties.

In Singapore, CCCS issued its sixth infringement decision for anti-competitive conduct in the last five years, against four businesses for infringing section 34 of the Competition Act 2004 through price-fixing of warehouse services and imposed a total financial penalty of approximately S$2.8 million.

In Malaysia, the Competition Appeal Tribunal unanimously affirmed the Malaysia Competition Commission’s infringement findings under section 4 of the Malaysia Competition Act 2010 in respect of the standardisation of ferry ticket prices for the transportation of vehicles via roll-on and roll-off vessels in Langkawi.

Please click here for an overview of notable antitrust developments in South-east Asia during the period October to December 2022. To see if there has been any enforcement activity in your sector in the fourth quarter of 2022, please refer to the overview chart here.