A Cross-Sector Competition Law For Hong Kong

After several years in preparation, the Hong Kong Government published its Competition Bill on 2 July 2010. The Bill, which aims to introduce a cross-sector competition law regime in Hong Kong, was formally introduced in the Legislative Council on 14 July, but will not be debated before the autumn.

The publication of the Bill comes after several years of policy debate which culminated in a 2006 recommendation from the Competition Policy Review Committee to establish cross-sector competition legislation for Hong Kong, and two subsequent rounds of public consultation. It is understood that the Government intends to use a phased-in approach, with the institutional provisions coming into force first to allow the authorities to be set up and to commence work on enforcement guidelines. The substantive provisions would only come into force at a later date, probably not before 2012, by which time guidelines should have been finalized.