JAKARTA, 18 November 2021 – On 10 and 16 November 2021, 41 competition agency economists and officials from nine ASEAN Member States, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Viet Nam, and Australia and New Zealand participated in two competition clinics on economic analysis. The competition clinics are part of the multi-phase Competition Law Implementation Programme (CLIP) supported by the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) Economic Cooperation Support Programme (AECSP).

The participants discussed current economic thinking and issues facing their respective competition agencies, including matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also exchanged experiences analysing competition cases and gained relevant insights from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Clifford Chance speakers.

"The Competition Clinics highlighted everyone's support and commitment for continuous learning in economics and competition law, which are crucial to achieving the ASEAN Economic Community goals and objectives. These forums served as an excellent platform for ASEAN, Australian, and New Zealand economists to network and share technical knowledge and skills," said Dr Wan Khatina Nawawi, ASEAN Economist and Director of Economics at the Malaysian Aviation Commission.

ACCC Principal Economist, Rajat Sood, said that "it was both interesting and reassuring to share a 'virtual stage' with other seasoned competition experts and find that there was a great deal of commonality in our day-to-day experiences in applying economic tools to competition issues, as well as in our perspectives on the normative scope of competition enforcement."

Economic analysis is an integral part of the work that competition agencies undertake. Creating forums to support and encourage ASEAN's burgeoning network of competition economists is an essential step in fostering a culture of rigorous economic analysis within ASEAN.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission delivered these activities in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, including the AANZFTA Support Unit. In its fourth phase, CLIP focuses on supporting ASEAN competition agencies to build knowledge and practical expertise in the region by sharing resources, skills, and techniques for effective competition law implementation.

For more information, please contact the AANZFTA Support Unit at aanzfta_inquiry@asean.org.