| Lyna Mohamad |
THE correlation between competition and sustainable economic growth as a result of increased productivity is crucial in achieving Brunei Vision 2035, said Dr Hajah May Faezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin, the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Economy and Finance) at the Prime Minister’s Office, during the official opening of the Asean Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) Regional Workshop yesterday, at The Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong.
Hosted by the Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) and the Competition and Consumer Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Of?ce, the three-day workshop was organised in collaboration with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) and the Asean Secretariat, and with support from the Competition Law Implementation Programme (CLIP) of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).
In her speech, Dr Hajah May Faezah also pointed out that generating efficiency and productivity in the economy serves as one of the fundamental aims of competition law enforcement, particularly in the key target sectors, which in turn contribute to accelerated economic growth.
“This may have particularly strong effects on the cost of production, making the country more competitive – an important determinant in attracting foreign direct investment and promoting domestic business growth,” she said.
She also said that deterring anti-competitive behaviours such as cartels or abusive dominant behaviours can stimulate firms to be more efficient and innovative, in addition to increasing consumer choice and product quality.
Dr Hajah May Faezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Economy and Finance) at the Prime Minister’s Office, in a group photo with the participants of the workshop. – AZROL AZMI
“Therefore, in addition to fostering economic growth, competition law plays an important role in supporting higher consumer welfare,” said Dr Hajah May Faezah.
To date, nine Asean member states (AMSs) already have competition laws in place including Brunei Darussalam, which passed its Competition Order in 2015.
Headlined ‘Competition Economics in Practice’, the workshop has gathered more than 30 senior officials from local government agencies and regional competition agencies within Asean, to focus on the economic underpinnings of competition law enforcement.
The two-day workshop also offers practical components to economic concepts, including cases, practical experiences and perspectives by several competition practitioners from the AMSs.
Specifically, the workshop will cover the use of economic concepts and analyses in the key prohibitions of competition law, which include cartels, bid-rigging, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and anti-competitive mergers.
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