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| Home > News & Events > Speeches > 2005 > Welcome Address by Mr Lam Chuan Leong Chairman CCS |
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Welcome Address by Mr Lam Chuan Leong, Chairman CCS
WELCOME ADDRESS BY MR LAM CHUAN LEONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE COMPETITION COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE COMPETITION COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE AND ITS INAUGURAL COMPETITION LAW CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY, 2 AUGUST 2005, 9:30AM AT BALLROOM 3, SUNTEC CONVENTION CENTRE, SINGAPORE
Mr Lim Hng Kiang,
Minister for Trade and Industry
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
1. Welcome to the official launch of the Competition Commission of Singapore (or 'CCS') and our inaugural Competition Law Conference.
2. Following the enactment of the Competition Act in November last year, the CCS was set up on 1 January 2005 to administer and implement the Act. Our mission is to promote healthy competitive markets that will benefit the Singapore economy. We will do so based on sound economic principles applied objectively and consistently.
3 The prohibition provisions in the Competition Act will come into force from 1 January next year, when the prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance take effect. The provisions on mergers and acquisitions will come into force later. In the meantime, the CCS is putting in place the structures, systems and procedures for implementation of the Act.
4. To date, the CCS has recruited 26 core staff, which includes competition analysts, legal counsels, corporate and other support staff. More staff will be recruited at a pace that will be commensurate with the expected case load in future. Programmes are ongoing to build the capabilities of CCS staff, including training sessions by OECD, UK OFT, US Department of Justice, and other experts. We have also sent officers for attachment to competition authorities overseas, including Ireland and New Zealand.
5. To help businesses prepare for the implementation of competition law, the CCS has on 29 July, issued guidelines on how it will interpret and enforce the prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance. The guidelines were finalised after considering several written public submissions and the feedback received at public outreach sessions. The CCS will complete consultation and issue the other draft guidelines by November 2005.
6. The response to the public consultation exercise on the draft guidelines has been positive. We have received much useful feedback from business chambers, trade associations, companies, individuals and overseas organisations. I thank all who have taken time and effort to give your views. Your feedback is important in helping us to better understand your concerns and improve the guidelines to make them clearer and more transparent.
7. Some businesses have expressed concerns about potentially being subject to conflicting requirements by CCS and sectoral regulators. To minimise this, we have been working closely with the sectoral regulators to foster greater co-ordination and co-operation. We will where possible facilitate consistency and alignment in the application of generic and sector specific regulation. We will also be issuing guidelines on how we will deal with competition cases where jurisdictions overlap, to avoid subjecting businesses to double regulation.
8. We have been working closely with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to reach out to the business community. Five briefings have been conducted thus far. We intend to continue working with the SBF and other stakeholder groups to raise the general level of awareness and understanding of competition law.
10. This Competition Law Conference is a co-operative effort between the CCS and key stakeholder groups representing the business community, legal profession, and academic institutions.
11. On behalf of the CCS, I thank the Singapore Academy of Law and the Singapore Business Federation for co-organising the conference with us. We are grateful for the support of the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Management University.
12. In concluding, I would like thank our Minister for gracing this occasion and the overseas speakers for sharing their expertise and wisdom at this conference. I look forward to a stimulating discussion and exchange of ideas at today's conference.
13. Thank you. |
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