News

• CCS Releases Report on Findings From Aviation Market Study

  March 18, 2014

  1. The Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) recently concluded a market study on the aviation industry in Singapore which was conducted by external consultant, ICF SH&E. The study was commissioned as a post-action study on two of the airline joint venture (“JV”) agreements previously notified to and cleared by CCS, to determine the scale and scope of benefits arising from the JVs. The findings of the study showed that a Net Economic Benefit (NEB) did materialise from the formation of the JVs.
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• CPP, CNRP agree on 14 electoral reform points

  March 17, 2014

  The ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party have agreed on 14 key issues regarding the country’s electoral reforms.

  According to a joint statement released after a nearly four-hour meeting, the Joint Committee for Electoral Reform said two out of the 14 issues had been agreed prior to the meeting; reform of the candidate and voter registration process and a draft law on the financing of political parties.

  Other points of agreement include the reform of the polling system, the independence of social civil organisations, the role of the media in broadcasting election campaigns, the establishment of an agency to settle election conflicts, and inviting observers to monitor voting.
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• China’s central bank halts Tencent, Alibaba mobile payment process

  March 14, 2014

  China’s central bank demanded on Friday that payments made by scanning a bar code with mobile devices be halted, hitting the payment arms of Internet companies Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding.

  The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) made its decision amid concerns about the security of verification procedures and asked both companies to provide detailed reports about their products.

  The suspension affects the rollout of new virtual credit cards by Tencent and Alibaba as competition intensifies in China’s e-commerce market.
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• Japan, US still at odds over agriculture tariffs

  March 14, 2014

  WASHINGTON – Japan and the United States have moved no closer to overcoming their differences regarding tariffs on Japanese farm produce, including beef and pork, that are an obstacle to conclusion of a Pacific free trade pact.

  A Japanese official on Wednesday hinted most of their two-day talks were dedicated to discussions about the tariffs on meat, which is one of what Tokyo calls five sensitive produce categories in the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.

  The lack of progress in the talks between the two biggest economies in the envisioned TPP could diminish the prospect for an agreement on the contentious issue ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan in late April.
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• Competition panel lens on Rlys, IRCTC for unfair practices

  March 13, 2014

  NEW DELHI – The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has decided to probe the Indian Railways and its catering and online ticketing arm — Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) — for using unfair trade practices while providing various services.

  The services under scrutiny include those related to online booking of tickets, premium charges for calls made to Indian Railways’ call centre, and compulsorily charging for providing food in trains such as the Rajdhani Express, instead of giving passengers an option to not have food.

  The CCI has admitted that in the railway passenger services segment, the dominance of Indian Railways is undisputable “due to the statutory and regulatory framework”.
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• House tackles antitrust measures

  March 11, 2014

  MANILA, Philippines — Pending bills seeking to curb monopolies and unfair competition in business got a boost from various government agencies and business groups, which said that such measures were long overdue and needed in the light of the impending economic integration of countries in Southeast Asia by 2015.

  The House committees on economic affairs and trade and industry have begun deliberations on the various antitrust bills that have been filed in the 16th Congress, and there appears to be little resistance to the measures that are intended to encourage free and fair economic competition.

  The antitrust bills seek to prohibit the abuse of market-dominant positions and the excessive concentration of economic power by regulating unfair business practices and improper acts. These are intended to protect consumers and promote a balanced development of the economy.
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• Facebook CEO riding high – for now, after WhatsApp deal

  February 25, 2014

  SAN FRANCISCO/BARCELONA – Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will take a victory lap at the world’s largest mobile technology conference in Barcelona on Monday, after beating out Google Inc in a $19 billion acquisition of free messaging service WhatsApp. But he is facing a new arduous race on the horizon.

  Just 18 months after appearing at risk of getting crushed by the swelling mobile wave, the No. 1 social network is riding high. It gets a huge chunk of ad revenue on world-wide users of smartphones and tablets, from virtually nothing several years ago.

  Now, Zuckerberg’s purchase of WhatsApp – while raising eyebrows with the hefty price paid for a company that boasts 450 million users but has little revenue – places Facebook at the heart of smartphone communications.
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• Corporate law focuses on SOEs

  February 25, 2014

  HA NOI — The draft amendment to the Viet Nam Law on Enterprises 2005 focuses on the practices of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) together with the rights, obligations of ownership and managerial process.

  The draft reflects the growing pressure to restructure this driver of the economy. According to the new chapter proposed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the amended law would identify the roles and missions of all SOEs and also each SOE in particular.

  The proposal legalises principles to secure and develop State capital in commercial operations.
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