Brunei must enact an effective competition policy in order to participate as a member in regional trading blocs like the APEC, ASEAN and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. What effect would Brunei's Competition Order have on Brunei - and specifically its small and medium enterprises or SMEs (the...

In this paper, we review the overall micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise landscape in Asia, including the challenges and constraints faced by enterprises in physical (offline) and online markets. We then explore the unique circumstances and externalities that arise due to the special...

Cartels are illegal in India, as they are almost everywhere. They are subject to heavy fines. Why, then, do businesses frequently try to fix prices? Because doing so usually is profitable. On average cartels raise prices by more than 20%, and probably face less than a 25% chance of being caught...

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has concluded that competition in the market for SME loans from banks is suboptimal, and has, in fact, decreased in the past few years. Only a limited number of banks is active in this market, there are high barriers to entry, and...

Based on international advice, most countries have now adopted competition laws. The more competition, the better – especially for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that most need to compete. Yet, “better” competition laws (as measured by a range of characteristics commonly...

Interlocking directorates, or management interlocks, appear to be relatively common occurrences in many countries. While the practice generally is not considered to be harmful to competition, interlocks that involve competitors can raise serious concerns because of the potential to facilitate...