| Izah Azahari |
THE Competition and Consumer Affairs Department in the Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE), under the Prime Minister’s Office recently conducted a dialogue session in collaboration with DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) to create more awareness on the Competition Order 2015.
The event held at the Auditorium Workshop of the Design and Technology (D&T) Building in Anggerek Desa was attended by members of the Brunei Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in addition to officials from DARe and JPKE.
In her opening remarks, Heidi Farah Sia binti Abdul Rahman, the Acting Director of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Department, spoke on the importance of competition laws in promoting a fair and healthy market place, which is a foundation for economic development and achieving the goals of Brunei Vision 2035.
The Competition Order 2015 prohibits businesses from forming agreements that may bring harmful results to consumers, such as fixing prices and limiting supplies. Within this context, business and the government are also consumers.
The session was particularly aimed at creating awareness on the rules and regulations for businesses and promoting a fair business environment, while the law calls for businesses to set prices free from any coordination or agreements among competitors.
Some business practices which may seem harmless, such as enabling the exchange of prices or sensitive market information, are actually prohibited by the Order, as they may lead to price increase at the expense of consumers.
A senior officer from the Competition and Consumer Affairs Department also delivered a briefing on the three key prohibitions under the Competition Order 2015 – Anti-Competitive Agreements, Abuse of Dominant Positions and Anti-Competitive Mergers – along with case examples from around the region.
The enforcement of these prohibitions will commence in phases, beginning with the prohibition on Anti-Competitive Agreements, once adequate preparations such as advocacy and capacity-building have been established.
The briefing was followed by an interactive dialogue with the members of the Chamber and media personnel on questions such as an enforcement timeline, bid riggings, and the application of the law.
The session concluded with a show of support from the media, as well as from the Chamber of Commerce, in the bid to promote a fair and healthy competition culture in Brunei.
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