From mature competition jurisdictions such as Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to the swiftly-evolving regimes in China and south-east Asia, countries across the Asia-Pacific region recognise the importance of having fully-functional antitrust regimes. And companies across the world understand that doing business in Asia-Pacific requires first-rate antitrust counsel.

GCR Live: Law Leaders Asia-Pacific will address the most pressing antitrust issues facing in-house counsel and private practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region today.

Topics include -

Merger control

A panel of international speakers will discuss how competition regimes in the Asia-Pacific region compare and contrast to other enforcement models around the world. The panel will consider the substantive and procedural merger control issues faced by in-house counsel from companies looking to expand in Asia-Pacific and beyond, including recent developments in filing thresholds, review processes and review standards.

Cartel enforcement

Speakers will look at a selection of cartel enforcement regimes and recent cases from across the region and how they compare to international norms. The panel will examine how Asian companies react to cartel cases brought by antitrust authorities in the US, EU and Australia, and how cooperation between those agencies and Asian enforcers is becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Abuse of dominance

China, India, Singapore and New Zealand are just a few of the Asia-Pacific jurisdictions that have seen major abuse of dominance cases in recent times – many of which are against state-owned, or state-fostered, companies. Panellists will compare and contrast abuse of dominance enforcement across the Asia-Pacific region.

Competition, intellectual property & technology

The Asia-Pacific region is home to several of the world’s leading technology hubs, including South Korea, Japan, China and India. This panel will provide a global perspective on the interface between competition law and intellectual property in the technology industries and the difficulties faced by corporate counsel in dealing with competition law issues relating to IP in Asia.

ASEAN enforcer roundtable

All 10 ASEAN countries have pledged to have fully-functioning competition laws by 2015. Some have long-established regimes, while others appear to have some way to go. This roundtable will focus on how south-east Asian countries are approaching competition law enforcement, significant cases that have arisen so far, and how competition law in the region is likely to develop in future.

Foreign investment review and national security

This panel will look at foreign investment review and national security both in China and in other countries worldwide (for example investments into the US, Australia and Canada) with a particular focus on investments made by state-owned enterprises.

China’s enforcement regime

Ever since China introduced competition laws three years ago, the country’s three enforcement bodies have been among the most heavily watched antitrust enforcers in the world, such is their potential impact on global business. This panel will examine the most significant recent developments in China’s enforcement programme, including this year’s substantial antitrust fines, the remedies imposed on state-owned telecoms companies and the country’s approach to merger control.