The Legal 500

Five months after the Competition Act 2010 (“Act”) came into force on 1 January 2012, the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) has issued the final version of three guidelines (collectively, “Guidelines”) it had previously made available for public consultation last year. The Guidelines comprise of the following:

THE COMPETITION ACT

It was reported that the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) announced on 27 April 2012 that a RM50,000 (S$20,400) fee would be payable for parties seeking to make an application for an exemption. In addition to the one-time application fee, parties who successfully obtain an exemption will have to pay an annual fee of RM10, 000 (S$4,100) for those under individual exemptions, or RM20,000 (S$8,200) for those under block exemptions.

On 9 March 2012, the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) announced that it had issued a Proposed Infringement Decision (“PID”) against Batam Fast Ferry Pte Ltd (“BFS”) and Penguin Ferry Services Pte Ltd (“PFS”).

In June 2010, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) ruled against SISTIC for abuse of it's dominant position in the market and acting anti-competitively.

Two competition bills were recently tabled at the Senate of the Philippines – the “Competition Act of 2011”, which was tabled on 17 January 2012, and the “Competition Policy Act of 2011”, which was tabled on 26 January 2012.

On 23 November 2011, the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) released an infringement decision against 11 modelling agencies in Singapore for breaching Section 34 of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) (“Act”). Section 34 of the Act prohibits, amongst other things, price fixing activities.

IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION LAW IN MALAYSIA Competition law in Malaysia will become a reality next year, with the Malaysia Competition Act 2010 (“Act”) due to take effect from 1 January 2012.

By Venisha Lakshmi Nair

In the recent case of Mano Vikrant Singh v Cargill TSF Asia Pte Ltd [2011] SGHC 241, the High Court held that a clause in an employee incentive award plan which forfeits deferred incentive payments if the employee resigns and joins a competitor is not a restraint of trade.

On 23 November 2011, the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) issued an infringement decision against 11 modelling agencies for fixing fees for modelling services in Singapore under the aegis of its trade association, the Association of Modelling Industry Professionals (“AMIP”). Ten agencies were fined a total of S$361,596, with individual fines ranging from S$3,000 to S$132,315.

Asian Legal Business (ALB): As a specialist practitioner in this field, could you please enlighten our readers on the current state of the Energy and Resources (E&R) industry?

In this issue
Reopening an Arbitral Tribunal’s Finding on the Legality of an Underlying Contract …………………………………………………1
By Cavinder Bull, SC & Kong Man Er
Recent Developments in the Enforcement of DAB Decisions in FIDIC Conditions of Contract ..…....…………………………….. 3
By Eugene Tan
ICC Rules of Arbitration 2012 ………….. 5
By Jimmy Yim, SC & Erroll Joseph
Accolades ……………..………………….... 7
Newsflash …………………….…………… 7

In this issue Singapore Competition Law Watch ..................................................1

Regulatory Updates .……….………….2

Industry News …….…….….…………..4

– Anti-Competitive Agreements …….4

– Abuse of Dominance ……………....9

– Merger Regulations ………………13

– Procedural Matters …………….....16

Feature Article ....……………..……….17

Demystifying Merger Notifications – Procedures and Practical Tips Do you know? ………………..………..20

The Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) issued an infringement decision on 30 September 2011, imposing financial penalties on 16 Employment Agencies (“EAs”) in Singapore, specifically for the fixing of monthly salaries of new Indonesian Foreign Domestic Workers (“FDWs”). The case, CCS 500/001/11 Fixing of monthly salaries of new Indonesian Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore (“EA Case”), serves as a reminder to all companies operating in Singapore, regardless of their size, to ensure compliance with Singapore’s competition laws in the conduct of their businesses.

1 Singapore Competition Law
Watch
5 Regulatory Updates

On 19 May 2011, the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) published a staff report summarising its findings following a recent market inquiry into the competitiveness of the Singapore retail petrol market.

On 13 May 2011 and 18 May 2011, the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) issued two proposed infringement decisions (“PID”) relating to suspected contraventions of section 34 of the Singapore Competition Act (Cap. 50B) (“Act”).

In This Issue
1 Singapore Competition Law
Watch
3 Regulatory Updates
9 Industry News
- Aviation
- FMCG
- Manufacturing &
Construction
- Pharmaceutical/Medical
- Others
20 Feature Article
22 Do you know?

Two years after worldwide M&A plunged into a deal famine, 2010 seems to be a time of valuable opportunity for those with an appetite for acquisitions. Recently, the market has been buoyant with good news of economic recovery pouring in.

(1) Singapore Competition Law Watch (2) Regional Focus - China (3) Regulatory Update (4) Industry News - Aviation - Petrochemical - Cement - Financial - IT - Others (5) Do you know?

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) plans to introduce a Marker system and a Leniency Plus system to the existing leniency programme to enhance the effectiveness of CCS’ enforcement action against cartels.

The Competition Commission of Singapore (the “CCS”) has gazetted its revised “Guidelines on Lenient Treatment for Undertakings Coming Forward with Information on Cartel Activity Cases” (“Revised Leniency Guidelines”) on 8 January 2009. The Revised Leniency Guidelines came into effect yesterday.