Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam – Market studies is an integral component of competition enforcement. It serves as a basis to possible enforcement action and as a competition policy advocacy tool. A Workshop on the selection and prioritisation of sectors for market study was held to discuss the factors that will need to be taken into account when undertaking market studies, as well as the steps involved.

The selection and prioritization of sectors is the first step in conducting a market study as competition authorities often face limited resources. Dr. Hassan Qaqaya (Melbourne Law School, University Of Melbourne, Australia, and Associate Professor, Perdana University) added that priorities may focus on areas with greater impact, areas that lacks business investments, specific problems within markets, and markets with asymmetric information. In addition, market studies could also be a tool to ensure that State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) do not abuse their dominance. Dr. Maman Setiawan, (Director of CEDS/LP3E FEB, University of Padjajaran), then conveyed that in collating data, there is a necessity to ensure that it supports the market study being undertaken.

Dato Paduka Eddie bin Dato Paduka Haji Sunny, the Chairman of Competition Commission of Brunei Darussalam, highlighted the need for other sectoral bodies to understand the importance of market studies undertaken by competition agencies. Thus, in addition to competition agencies from AMS, several sectoral bodies and policy makers of Brunei Darussalam were also invited to attend the Workshop. According to Dr. Hiroaki Ishigaki, consultant from the Nera Economic Consulting Tokyo, engagements with other sectoral bodies will facilitate the competition agencies’ task in undertaking the study studies and will ensure a credible outcomes.

The Workshop is part of a project entitled the ‘Technical Assistance for ASEAN Competition Authorities to Strengthen Competition Law Enforcement in ASEAN Region’ supported under the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). The Workshop was organized by the Indonesia Competition Commission (KPPU) and the Competition Commission of Brunei Darussalam.