Morning Sessions: Overview and developments

Competition Law Overview – latest developments from around the Asia Pacific region
Whether you look after operations in one jurisdiction or throughout the region, any changes in regulations will affect not only your day-to-day running but any business growth plans you have in the pipeline. This session will brief you on the developments of various jurisdictions that will help the smooth running of your business.

• Developing Jurisdictions: China, Hong Kong, India, and Vietnam
• Mature Jurisdictions APAC: Japan, Korea, Australia
• US & EU: key developments in the last 12 months and impacts this will have on APAC
• What are the emerging trends and competition law policy challenges for APAC?
• Japan Focus: Review of the problems with the enforcement procedure and the Amendment Bill

(Panel Discussion)
Abuse of Market Position: what constitutes abusing a market position?

Irrespective of what industry you’re in, growth and market share is vital to the success of your business – as such ‘abuse of market position’ is an issue you cannot ignore.  This session provides practical analysis of key issues to help you avoid/resolve such situations. When are you regarded as in a “dominant market position”?

• How are you deemed to be abusing your market position?
• How does the approach differ between jurisdictions?
• Court Judgements: the extent of the fines that various jurisdictions can levy
• Case study: Baidu/Google/Internet Explorer

Benny Chen, Associate General Counsel, PROCTOR & GAMBLE
Dr. Andrew Simpson, Principal, CERTARI CONSULTING (former Regional Legal Counsel, PACNET)
Dr Fei Deng, Senior Consultant, NERA

China’s enforcement agencies – the latest developments and updates
The roles of the enforcement agencies under China’s Anti-Monopoly Enforcement Authority (AMEA) have become clearer and more defined – this session will highlight the guidelines they follow and the extent of their powers.

• An update on the recent activities of the AMEA – including how each agency’s role is being defined
• Guidance and Implementing Rules: What has emerged so far and what can be expected this year?
• Current Issues: What are the current areas of focus for the enforcement agencies? How might the current body of rules and guidance be further developed?
• How does approaching the national officials differ from approaching provincial officials?
• Litigation: The key cases to date, and the challenges that lie ahead for plaintiffs, defendants and the courts themselves.

Sang Lin, Director of Anti-Monopoly Division of the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau of the STATE ADMINISTRATION FOR INDUSTRY & COMMERCE

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM): Prohibition and investigation analysis
An in-depth and practical analysis of 2 high profile transactions and how those decisions could affect your operation growth plans.

• Prohibition analysis: Coca-Cola/Huiyan
• High-profile investigation analysis: Lotte/Times Retail
• What lessons can be learnt from the limited information made available from MOFCOM?

Dr. Zhan Hao, Executive Partner, GRANDALL LEGAL GROUP

Afternoon Sessions: Merger controls and case studies

(Panel Discussion)
Merger Controls – latest developments and expected changes from around the APAC region
The past 12 months have seen a host of changes and developments in merger controls throughout the region. This session will provide a thorough overview of the developments to ensure that you remain ahead of the game and mitigate the costs involved with M&A transactions.

• Overview of policy updates and pending regulation drafts from around APAC
• Pre-merger notifications: documentation and timing issues
• Due diligence: preparing for unwritten factors and incorporating the cost of failing the review – including merger control fines
• Conditional remedies: behavioural vs. structural – costs and benefits of preventative measures

Edward Li, Regional Counsel North Asia, JOHNSON & JOHNSON (CHINA) INVESTMENT

China Merger Control – the year in review
Whether you already have operations or are thinking of setting up operations in China, China’s anti-monopoly regulations are becoming an increasingly important consideration, even beyond the well-publicised merger filing system. The past 18 months have seen a number of new measures and guidelines, with more to come. This session will review the key developments and assess the ramifications for your business.

• Guidance and implementing rules: highlights of the provisions published to date, including the new reporting and review measures.
• Current issues: what problems have been resolved and what areas remains uncertain or of concern?
• Procedures: how is the filing and review system working in practice?
• Industrial policy vs. Competition policy: to what extent are state-owned enterprises (SOEs) affected by the merger filing system?
• Acquiring domestic entities: should protectionism remain a concern for foreign entities?

Martyn Huckerby, Partner, MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES

Coffee Break

(Panel Discussion)
In-depth analysis of MOFCOM conditional approvals involving high-profile transactions
Imposing conditions on mergers is one way of preventing anti-competitive behaviour – the following transactions are analysed to highlight the factors that may affect your future M&A activity in China.

• InBev/Anheuser-Busch
• Mitsubishi Rayon/Lucite
• Pfizer/Wyeth
• Panasonic/Sanyo
• How far reaching are the enforcement authorities’ discretionary powers?
• Appeals: What avenues are available should you wish to appeal against an unfavourable decision?

Greg Liu, Partner, PAUL WEISS
Vanessa Zhang, Senior Economist, LECG

Korea Anti-Monopoly regulations: the best practice standard for APAC?
Korea’s competition law is generally acknowledged as one of the most mature of the APAC region – with many viewing the implementation and enforcement of the regulations as ‘best practice’. With an overview of recent and upcoming developments in policies, this session will give a strong indication of how the ‘younger’ regimes will evolve.

• Overview of recent policy developments and enforcement
• Cartel enforcement: the methodology behind investigations and judgements
• Merger controls: case studies of recent high-profile transactions
• Pending policy developments – drafts and key developments

Jaeho Moon, Director International Cooperation Division, KOREA FAIR TRADE COMMISSION

End of Day One