Highlights of the South African Competition Commission’s 10th Annual Conference

October, 2016

Highlights of the South African Competition Commission’s 10^th Annual Conference – By Kathryn Lloyd (KPMG, Johannesburg)

On October 5-7 2016, the Competition Commission of South Africa (Commission) hosted its 10^th annual Competition Law, Economics and Policy Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, which drew prominent local and international experts from the academic, business and policy communities. While the theme of the conference was “Competition Policy and Economic Growth”, discussions touched on a wide range of topics. This article highlights some of the key issues that participants raised during the lively panel discussions, most notably surrounding cartel criminalisation, the effectiveness of competition enforcement and co-operation between agencies in the context of globalisation. 

Introduction: Trends in South African competition policy

The diversity of topics that participants addressed during the Commission’s 10th annual Competition Law, Economics and Policy Conference is reflective of an unprecedented level of enforcement action arising from “traditional” anti-cartel and abuse of dominance laws. Simultaneously, the South African legislature has introduced a range of new provisions in the Competition Act, 89 of 1998, empowering the Commission to conduct market inquiries and criminalising cartel conduct, with debate on a further round of amendments advancing rapidly. Merger control in South Africa has taken on a unique and powerful r