The Hong Kong Competition Authority finds that the proposed pharmaceutical sales survey is not exempted from the prohibition on anticompetitive agreements (Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry)

On 22 October 2019, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (“HKCC”) published a decision that the proposed sales survey of the Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (“HKAPI”) is not exempted from the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements as a result of the efficiency exemption. In Hong Kong, businesses may self-assess whether their conduct benefits from an exemption under the Competition Ordinance, or they may apply to HKCC for a decision as to whether the conduct is exempted. [1] In this case, to obtain legal certainty, HKAPI had applied to HKCC for a decision confirming that the proposed survey is exempted because it enhances overall economic efficiency. This being the first decision under section 11 of the Competition Ordinance on the efficiency exemption, the