Hong Kong's competition law is expected to make further headway as Hong Kong’s Competition Tribunal hears the territory's first case of alleged abuse of market power.
Partner and Head of Baker McKenzie's Asia Pacific Antitrust & Competition Practice Stephen Crosswell speaks to Global Competition Review about the importance of early cases in setting the approach to alleged abuse of market power, and what it means for the legal landscape in the territory.
Stephen Crosswell said: “In early decisions, lawyers will be hoping that a clear framework is established to assess how market power is measured. A blunt test that looks at market structures or market share is not sufficiently nuanced and will lead to arbitrary enforcement.”
Stephen commented that it is especially important in Hong Kong, where there has been limited official guidance on abuse cases and some confusing messaging was offered during the debate on the draft law a decade ago.
He added that the tribunal’s approach toward defining an abuse will be another critical aspect of this case, as courts must not react negatively to the harsh economic reality that “good competition is often brutal. This is particularly important in the current environment, where some competition regulators and commentators have been floating controversial and unsubstantiated theories of harm in what… look like highly dynamic, innovation-led markets."
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