Guest Talk - "Hong Kong's New Competition Ordinance: Impacts on Businesses and Consumers"

​As the last developed economy to have set up the "rules of the game" for market competition, Hong Kong is to enforce its 2012 Competition Ordinance soon this year. This seminar will (1) outline the historical development of debates surrounding establishing a general competition law and anecdotal evidence of anti-competition conduct in Hong Kong; (2) review the content of the Competition Ordinance; and (3) assess the possible impacts of its implementation on consumers and local businesses (especially the SMEs)s. While many factors (including limited land supply) are responsible for increasing high costs of living and doing business in Hong Kong, the welfare loss caused by lack of a "level-playing field" can be much higher than has been perceived simply because that many anticompetitive business practices are not publically observable in the absence of an effective competition law.