8 February 2023
By Hanna Jez
On December 9 2022, Professor Deborah Healey shared her insights on ‘Asia-Pacific Antitrust’ alongside experts within the field of Asian Competition Law in a roundtable discussion for the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section ‘Antitrust in Asia’ conference in Singapore.
Professor Healey’s session focused on exploring whether there is a ‘common stripe’ of antitrust enforcement and policy across the Asia Pacific region that defines a distinct brand of enforcement or risk. In answering the question, Professor Healey reviewed current enforcement statistics and the stated goals of competition laws in the region, including the often- mentioned concept of ‘fairness.’ She concluded that enforcement across the region was variable numerically but increasing, and that there were similarities and differences in enforcement approaches. Goals are important in defining approaches – so, it is premature to talk of a standardized strand of enforcement in the Asia Pacific, since there are likely to be significant jurisdictional differences.
The roundtable was hosted by legal scholar William E. Kovacic of the George Washington Law School. Professor Healey spoke alongside fellow experienced competition law and economics academics from the region, including R. Ian McEwin of the Australian National University Canberra, Sandra Marco Colino of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Harikumar Pillay of Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow.
The 2022 American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section was the organisation’s first event since 2018 due to the pandemic. Over the past few years, antitrust enforcement in Asia has continued to expand and become increasingly relevant in the legal and economic environment of the Asia-Pacific. This conference supported the Antitrust Law Section’s outreach to the competition community in Asia.
You can find out more about the ABA Antitrust Law Section here.
The conference agenda can be found here.
Professor Deborah Healey’s research can be found on the University website, SSRN, ResearchGate and LinkedIn