A Brainstorming Session to Monitor the Effectiveness of Competition Regimes in ASEAN was held from 25-26 May 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Brainstorming Session is part of the initiative to develop an Assessment Toolkit on Competition Enforcement and Advocacy tailored to the ASEAN context under the ASEAN Competition Action Plan (ACAP) 2016-2025.

ASEAN recognizes the benefit presented from periodically assessing their competition regimes, to among others support the steering and management of competition agencies, review the investigation processes, facilitate external stakeholder engagements, enhance advocacy work, exchange best practices and create knowledge exchange platforms.

“The brainstorming session aims to not only promote effective competition law enforcement through a systematic analysis of the various regulations, policies, institutional set-up of competition agencies and the various interventions made, but also to foster the understanding among ASEAN Member States (AMS) on the developments and challenges of competition and law of each country and to enhance cooperation among AMS itself” explained by Mr. Wattanasak Sur-Iam, Executive Director of the Secretariat to the Office of Thai Trade Competition Commission (OTCC), Department of Internal Trade,   Thailand in his opening remarks.

Four sets of indicators tailored to the ASEAN context were identified and were grouped in accordance to the following categories; legal enforcement and framework; institutional set-up; advocacy and awareness raising; and capacity development and resources. References were drawn from the available sets of indicators and methodologies identified to measure the various aspects of competition regimes by International Cooperation Network (ICN), UNCTAD and the OECD.

The Indicators will be used to develop the Assessment Toolkit which will be finalised later in the year. The Toolkit will be used by AMS to undertake a periodical self-assessment to measure or monitor the effectiveness of their competition law enforcement and advocacy efforts.

The Brainstorming Session was hosted by the OTCC, Department of Internal Trade, Thailand and supported by the ASEAN Secretariat and the project “Competition Policy and Law in ASEAN” Phase II (CPL II) which is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

For more information on Competition Policy and Law in ASEAN, please visit: http://www.asean-competition.org/