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Myanmar’s new Competition Law commences today
The Myanmar Competition Law 2015 (Law) comes into force today. The Rules under the Law have not been released nor has the Myanmar Competition Commission (MCC) been formed. It is understood that prior to the formation of the MCC, complaints will be dealt with by the Department of Competition Policy in the Ministry of Commerce.
Summary of Prohibitions
From today, certain conduct is prohibited by the Law including:
- Acts restraining competition: this applies to cartel conduct, vertical agreements and unilateral acts in restraint of competition (including abuse of dominance).
- Anti-monopolization: the Law prohibits individuals from taking a number of actions leading to “monopolization of a market”. It is not currently clear whether there will be a threshold for “monopolization”.
- Unfair competition: this prohibition covers well-established consumer protection principles (eg, misleading and deceptive advertising), as well as horizontal competition (eg, price discrimination and predatory pricing) and vertical competition prohibitions (eg, exclusive dealing).
- Merger control: the merger control regime applies to mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, or any other means of collaboration among businesses. The Rules are intended to detail the thresholds and notification processes, including whether notification to the MCC will be mandatory.
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