As part of the measures to help ease the impact of the rise in fuel prices, the Cabinet, on 29 March 2022, approved, in principle, the reduction of the contribution rate to the Social Security Fund. This new measure, once the regulations are issued, will reduce the monthly contribution rates of employers and employees from 5% to 1% of wage applicable for three months starting from May until July 2022, to help reduce the cost of living for employees and costs for employers through the SSF system.
In February 2022, the Minister of Employment issued Regulation No. 2 of 2022 on the Procedure and Conditions for the Payment of Old Age Security Benefits. This regulation raised a number of questions, particularly from employees and unions, as it only allows employees who voluntarily resign to receive their Old Age Security (Jaminan Hari Tua or “JHT”) benefits payout when they reach the age of 56, regardless of their age when they resign. In response to these objections, the Minister revisited the February regulation. On 26 April 2022, in the week before the Idul Fitri holidays, the Minister issued Regulation No. 4 of 2022 on the Procedure and Conditions for the Payment of Old Age Security Benefits (“Regulation 4”), replacing Minister of Employment Regulation No. 2 of 2022.
After surveying more than 2500 SMEs in Vietnam, the authority found that SMEs generally do not have a high level of awareness of the law. The regulator also published papers on the state of competition in two sectors. The annual report includes consolidated and published statistics by the VCCA and MOIT. This update was published as part of our quarterly newsletter, Asia Pacific Competition Highlights.
Effective from 1 February 2022, the updated post-closing merger notification form requires substantially more information from parties, though the statutory period for submission remains unchanged. The authority’s new guidance on unfair trade practices introduces a de minimis threshold of 10% to the definition of “superior bargaining power”. A draft amendment to the SME Credit Term Guideline proposes changes to the definition of an SME. The TCCT has been conducting a law review and focus-group surveys to assess the efficiency and enforcement of the competition law, the first such mandated assessment since the law came into effect in 2017.
Earlier this year, the authority invited interested parties to provide information relevant to its investigation through an online survey. The regulator has similarly invited public comments on passenger car warranty terms and conditions.
This update was published as part of our quarterly newsletter, Asia Pacific Competition Highlights.
On March 25, 2022, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) announced the closure of its investigation against a major US-based tennis racket manufacturer and its sole authorised distributor in Japan, after accepting their proposed commitment plans.
This was also the first enforcement action taken by the JFTC against a foreign supplier in a parallel import case, suggesting that the Commitment Procedure introduced in December 2018 may have helped overcome enforcement challenges in such cases. In the past, the JFTC has targeted only domestic distributors in suspected competition law infringements involving parallel imports.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has set out its initial risk management expectations for regulated entities that engage in activities associated with crypto-assets, and a policy roadmap for the period ahead in a letter to industry. We explore the APRA proposals in more detail below.
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow known as COP26, countries agreed to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement and accelerate its action plans to cut global greenhouse gas emissions. Along the line of this endeavor, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, announced Thailand’s enhanced ambition towards a low carbon society, aiming to reach carbon neutrality in 2050, and Net Zero GHG Emissions in or before 2065.
The Supreme People’s Court has identified certain relevant factors when assessing such agreements from an antitrust perspective. The Chinese entity of a multinational medical device manufacturer was fined RMB 9.12 million for RPM, representing 3% of its 2020 total China-wide revenue. The antitrust authority will be stepping up oversight over the platform economy, technology development, data security and livelihood sectors such as utilities, healthcare and medicine.
The first draft, released on 2 March 2022, is the authority’s first comprehensive overview of competition issues specific to the digital economy and its enforcement position and policy direction. This update was published as part of our quarterly newsletter, Asia Pacific Competition Highlights.