SINGAPORE: A toolkit for Competition Policy and Law Advocacy in Asean is ready, Singapore’s Minister For Trade & Industry (Trade), Lim Hng Kiang announced yesterday.
The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) chaired a Working Group to develop the toolkit, which will provide guidance for Asean member states, when they embark on their advocacy initiatives with various stakeholders.
“I am pleased to share that the toolkit has been completed.
We trust that Asean member states will find it useful for their advocacy efforts to create a fair competition culture in the region.
“In the long run, this will help attract more business investments, and encourage innovation by providing a level playing field for all businesses, thereby contributing to economic growth for the region,” Lim said in his speech at the International Competition Network Annual Conference 2016 yesterday.
The text of his speech was made available to Bernama.
Lim said that building on the Asean Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2015, the regional grouping will further enhance and harmonise competition policies and laws in the region under the AEC 2025.
“Although there are differences in the implementation of competition policy and law among the Asean economies due to different stages of economic development, members agree that there is a need to have a consistent approach to reach out to relevant stakeholders.
“This is to ensure that competition policy and law is consistent and understood across the region,” he added.
Today, the minister noted that nine of the 10 Asean member states, had implemented competition laws.
Since the adoption of the AEC blueprint in 2007, Asean has seen its total trade increase by nearly US$1 trillion.
Lim said almost 26 per cent of trade in Asean in 2015 was due to intra-Asean trade.
“Asean is also expected to enjoy rapid and sustained growth with an annual projected average growth of 5.2 per cent from 2016 to 2020.
This offers a huge potential for businesses,” he added. — Bernama