Dear Readers,
This edition of the CPI Antitrust Chronicle® sets out recent antitrust enforcement, policy and legislative developments and trends in the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region. The APAC region represents one of the most dynamic geographic regions in the world economy in recent years, as it occupies an increasingly important role in global supply chains and world geopolitics. As a result, practitioners are well-advised to keep their finger on the pulse of developments in this region across all policy areas, including in particular antitrust.
Antitrust is a growth area in APAC. As Ruben Maximiano, Wouter Meester & Leni Papa outline, APAC includes a mix of well-established, experienced competition authorities, including those from OECD member countries (Australia, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand) and a larger number of younger authorities. As the authors outline, each authority is at a distinct stage in the maturity of the development of its competition enforcement practice, as is reflected in the activities of its authorities, particularly in terms of competition advocacy. In particular, as the authors set out in detail, APAC authorities’ advocacy activities are becoming more pronounced as the region emerges from the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
APAC is no different from the rest of the world insofar as it is grappling with the conundrum of how to apply competition principles to the ever-dynamic tech sector. Perhaps unsurprisingly, APAC countries are taking inspiration from approaches adopted in the west, yet are nonetheless adopting their own somewhat distinct approaches, reflecting their own economic concerns. As Bruce Gustafson outlines, in the U.S., Europe, and recently APAC, governments are proposing new antitrust legislation targeting tech companies, and in particular “self-preferencing” by so-called digital platforms. But do these proposals threaten the business models that have made innovative products free to consumers? The jury is still out. Moreover, so-called “Big Data” is no less important to tech players in APAC than in other regions. As Vivek Ghosal sets out, authorities and policymakers in various APAC countries are challenges presented by Big Data, with particular reference to initiatives in Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Taiwan.
Mobile ecosystems form a key part of the tech sector, and they raise unique competition concerns in APAC just as they do in the rest of the world. As Yusuke Zennyo sets out, competition and transparency in the mobile ecosystem consists of various complex submarkets. The author develops the view, in light of recent policy developments in Japan, that antitrust policy ought to develop not only competition within individual submarkets of the mobile ecosystem, but also competition across multiple submarkets. Moreover, the author insists on the importance of transparency in the ecosystem for better decision-making by involved undertakings. Indeed, Japan has seen a number of recent policy developments and proposals that merit being followed in detail, as described by Toshio Dokei, Hideo Nakajima & Takako Onoki.
Finally, India is one of the largest and most important economies in the world. A piece by Dhanendra Kumar & Abir Roy provides valuable insight into developments in that increasingly vital jurisdiction by analyzing the extent to which recent government policies are conducive to the promotion of startups (which are essential to economic growth).
In sum, this Chronicle provides a fascinating and timely overview of the evolution of competition policy in APAC. By all accounts, this region will continue to be an engine of the global economy. As such, the pieces in this Chronicle are essential reading for any global antitrust practitioner.
As always, thank you to our great panel of authors.
Sincerely,
CPI Team1
1 CPI thanks Google for their sponsorship of this issue of the Antitrust Chronicle®. Sponsoring an issue of the Chronicle entails the suggestion of a specific topic or theme for discussion in a given publication. CPI determines whether the suggestion merits a dedicated conversation, as is the case with the current issue of the Chronicle. As always, CPI takes steps to ensure that the viewpoints relevant to a balanced debate are invited to participate and that the quality of our content maintains our high sta
