Competition Law Quarterly Asia Pacific

The first quarter of 2024 witnessed significant merger-control developments in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Businesses active in jurisdictions globally should remain vigilant of merger filing obligations and the ongoing changes to global merger control regimes. In this edition of the CLQ, we have expanded on our usual coverage only of the Asia-Pacific to include two notable developments in the Middle East (ie, in Egypt and Saudi Arabia).

In summary:

• In Singapore, Alvin Koh has commenced his term on 1 April 2024 as the new Chief Executive of the Competition and Consumer Commission Singapore (CCCS), bringing extensive legal and regulatory experience to the table;
• China significantly increased its merger filing thresholds which is good news for business as this means less transactions will be notifiable in China;
• A preliminary draft of the Platform Economy Act has been circulated in Thailand. This act aims to regulate and standardise digital platform services for consumer protection;
• The Philippines has also increased merger filing thresholds, albeit only slightly. This increase reflects gross domestic product growth to ensure that the thresholds remain relevant to the evolving economic landscape;
• In Egypt, the long-awaited pre-closing merger control regime is expected to come into effect from 1 June 2024. The new regime includes quantitative turnover and asset based thresholds, and can technically be exceeded by one party alone; and
• Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Competition (GAC) continues to crack down on failure to file cases. In February 2024, the GAC published details of a failure to file decision, serving as a reminder to businesses present in or expanding into the region, that the GAC is an active regulator and will not shy away from relying on its powers to enforce compliance, and make this publicly known.
  

The interactive map was last updated on 1 May 2024.

CLQ Editorial team: Angie Ng, Partner; Adelle Elhosni, Senior Associate; Kailun Ji, Senior Associate; Chelsea Toner, Associate; Danny Xie, Associate and Elise Miller, Associate.