PRESS RELEASE
28 September 2022  

PH co-hosts East Asia Top Officials’ Meeting, conference on competition policy

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), in partnership with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), is co-hosting the 17^th East Asia Top Officials’ Meeting on Competition Law and Policy (EATOP) on September 28, 2022, and the 14^th East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy (EAC) on September 29, 2022.   

Every year, the ADBI and JFTC team up with a national competition agency to host the EATOP and EAC. These events aim to convene key competition authorities to discuss recent developments and pressing concerns on competition law and policy in the region. 

For the first time since the PCC was organized in 2016, the Philippines is hosting the twin events, both taking place at the New World Makati Hotel. 

The EATOP is a meeting among competition authorities, and the EAC is an event open to government officials, business leaders, competition professionals, and academics. The events will be participated in by competition agency officials as well as government and industry stakeholders from Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines. 

The 17^th EATOP will feature sessions on the following topics: 

• Recent Developments and Trends in National Competition Law and Policy:
  The Role of Competition Authorities in Responding to Economic Shocks 
• Competition Policy and East Asian Regional Integration 
• Competition and Public Procurement 
• Mergers involving Nascent Competition or Emerging Competitors 

The 14^th EAC will address cutting-edge issues in competition: 

• The Effect of Sustainability Regulations on Competition Policy 
• The Interface Between Competition Policy and Privacy Laws 

“The Philippine Competition Commission is honored to host its peers from regional counterparts for EATOP and EAC in the Philippines. As economies grapple with uncertainty brought about by geopolitics and the lingering effects of economic lockdowns, it is critical that policymakers underscore the stabilizing role of competition law in ensuring predictable playing fields in the context of regional integration,” PCC OIC Chairperson and Commissioner Johannes Bernabe said.

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Link: https://www.phcc.gov.ph/press-releases/eatop-eac2022/