PresentationsKEYNOTE SPEECH
AUBECK KAM
AUBECK KAM (Chairman, Competition Commission of Singapore) delivered the opening speech and commented that 2015 is a significant year for Singapore and South-East Asian countries in general. This is a year that marks the effort to establish the ASEAN Economic Community. The latter represents a commitment to regional economic integration through the creation of a single market. The new opportunities that will be generated for over six hundred million people are tremendous, and will be a significant step to allow Asia to achieve its economic and developmental goals. Mr. Kam remarked that competition policy and law play a very important role for the development of the ASEAN region and pointed out that the ASEAN Experts Group of Competition has developed a set of regional guidelines on competition policy based on international best practices and the experiences of ASEAN Member States.
It has also developed a competition policy and law for business in Asia, both to increase awareness and facilitate compliance for business. Mr. Kam observed that today seven of the ASEAN countries have established a competition law (Brunei and Myanmar are the most recent additions, having passed their competition law earlier this year). There has also been continuous development of competition law in the ASEAN Member States: last year Malaysia published guidelines on its leniency regime as well as on financial penalties. Indonesia has focused on partnerships at local government level, Thailand is reviewing and making some substantial amendments to a strict competition effort for enforcement, and Vietnam has put in place new laws for more effective enforcement of competition law. Mr. Kam recommended that ASEAN competition authorities adopt a coordinated approach in order to avoid unnecessary burden and uncertainty.