 |
E-Newsletter
|
 |
CUTS
Centre for Competition, Investment & Economic Regulation (C-CIER) |
||
Advocacy and Capacity Building on Competition Policy and Law in Asia
|
The CUTS Centre for Competition, Investment &
Economic Regulation (C-CIER) is implementing a two-year project entitled
“Advocacy and Capacity Building on Competition Policy and Law in Asia”
(7Up2), with support from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs,
Switzerland (SECO), the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) and the
Department for International Development (DFID), UK. The Project endeavours
to accelerate the process towards a functional competition policy and
law for selected countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam in Southeast
Asia and Bangladesh, Nepal and India in South Asia), and advance an
enabling environment for the law and policy to be better enforced. More about the project can be found at http://www.cuts-international.org/7up2.htm |
Research |
The Project is currently at a vital stage. Research activities in each Project countries are shaping up considerable well. Perception surveys were carried out in all Project countries and, though having faced paramount difficulties, they yielded encouraging results. The findings, so far, have pointed to the prevalence of anti-competitive practices in the marketplace of all the Project countries; the limited level of awareness on competition-related issues, including those in the government circle; and the dearth of technical expertise on the subject. Besides India, where the Project has been progressing at an advanced pace (both the Country Report and Country Advocacy Document have been prepared and finalised, Project National Meetings organised as well as many advocacy and capacity building activities), four more Country Reports have been submitted so far, including Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Nepal [1] . It is, therefore, of utmost importance that these Reports are critically reviewed and appropriately commented upon, so that they can be improved to be put to the first test of national consultation. The Members of the Project Co-ordination and Management Unit (PCMU) have been providing substantial comments and guidance on all the reports, which have been acknowledged and undertaken by all the country partners. The major critical issues with the Country Reports received so far include: (1) Language (English vs. national languages); Read More… (2) Capacity
constraints on behalf of the Project country partners regarding policy
analysis, market structure analysis and clear understandings in scanning
out anti-competitive practices reported so far; (3) Scarcity of information, information asymmetry; and Read More… (4) Low level of responsiveness on behalf of the national stakeholders in each country. Read More… |
Advocacy |
Apart from research, advocacy has also been simultaneously undertaken in the first phase in all the Project countries. Dialogues with policy-makers, regulators, the academia and consumer associations have been the focus during regular visits paid by the PCMU to both the regions. An encouraging success was achieved in Vietnam, which is the focus of activities in the Mekong region. In response to the Draft Competition Law, 2004, that was set for discussion in the National Assembly of Vietnam (NA) in November 2004, the PCMU prepared a commentary on the same in Vietnamese language, which is entitled Bill Blow-up, before the start of the NA working session, and was widely circulated. The Bill Blow-up can be seen in the Advocacy
section of the Project Webpage at The Bill Blow-up was sent to all the members of the Vietnam National Reference Group (NRG) [2] , who, in turn, forwarded it to other concerned people/organisations in the country. The Bill Blow-up was very much appreciated by many of the recipients. Its recommendations were considered and reflected in the final adopted version of the Law. The Competition Administration Department (VCAD) at the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam, a newly established competition agency of the country, has henceforth sought further comments from the Project team into the implementation regulations, which they are currently drafting. Discussion is also going on about organising a seminar in the near future, to invite national and international comments on the same regulations, as well as to generate mass awareness on the issue. |
| News Briefs from the project countries… |
| BANGLADESH |
|
1. Cut Duty to Ensure
Fair Competition |
| 2. Band-roll
in Soft Drinks Leads to Uneven Competition |
| 3. Subscribers
Suffer as LPG Price Shoots up
|
| CAMBODIA |
| 1. Rampant
Corruption - A Major Hindrance to Development |
2.
Vietnam Exports Find More Ways into Cambodia |
| 3.
Channel Heat on in Cambodia
|
| INDIA |
1.
Government Set to Allow Private Players to Supply ATF |
2.
The War of India's Mobile Operators |
| 3.
M&As in Banks Will Be the Order of the Day |
4.
Pragmatic solution: BSNL-MTNL merger has been on hold too long |
| LAO PDR |
1. US Grants
NTR to Lao PDR |
2.
Forum for Better Business |
3.
Electricity Charges to Rise
|
NEPAL |
1.
Nepal in the Process of Preparing Anti-dumping Act |
2. Farmers
Compelled to Sell Paddy Cheap |
| 3.
Sugar Import Duty Slashed Further
|
Vietnam |
1.
Economy Faces Bumpy Road in the Years Ahead |
2.
State Promises to Control Steel Price |
| 3.
Auto Producers’ Profits Go under the Microscope |
|
[1] The process in Bangladesh is slower, due to a late start (as compared to other Project countries), capacity/awareness constraints and some unexpected socio-political events. [2] The NRG is a group of people representing various stakeholder groups in each of the project countries, who are associated to ensure that the activities and findings of the Project are circulated to a wide audience. The members of the NRG constituted in each of the Project countries are important people representing the civil society organisations, Research Institutions, Academia, Chambers of Commerce, Competition Authorities (wherever existent), Trade Departments (internal and external), Regulatory Authorities, Media and Donors. |