Antitrust Chronicle® – Antitrust developments in Asia-Pacific

This month, the Antitrust Chronicle® brings you the Antitrust Developments in the ASIA-PACIFIC region thanks to our guest editor Daniel Sokol* who also wrote this letter.

In 2011, the Asian Development Bank famously predicted that by 2050, an additional 3 billion people in the Asian regions could reach European living standards, thereby making the 2000s the “Asian Century.” In a world full of promise of Asian growth and innovation, competition law and policy play an important role. The current issue of CPI Antitrust Chronicle explores some of the cutting edge issues that competition authorities, courts, companies and their lawyers are grappling with in the early years of the Asian Century. Many of the issues addressed in the Asian context are issues of first impression.

We begin with perhaps the most important jurisdiction in Asia based on the size of the economy and its geopolitical position – China. The Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law provides for private rights of action. Private enforcement is an important part of antitrust enforcement. Private firms may have better information than government enforcers and may bring cases that a government enforcer may not. In this context, Zhan Hao and Song Ying analyze private litigation in China. First, they note that private antitrust litigation is at an early stage. Next, they identify that to date, most private cases have involved an abuse of dominant behavior. Yet, they observe that the types of parties involved in litigation