Led by the highly regarded Kala Anandarajah, our Competition and Antitrust Practice has gained a reputation for being at the leading edge in this field of law. Among our notable achievements, we were:
- First to notify agreements and obtain positive public decisions from the Competition Commission
- First to obtain a Merger Clearance, where the Notification was only undertaken in Singapore, although the transaction, involving a large Singapore multinational, was a global one
- First to lodge appeals with the Competition Appeal Board from decisions issued by the Competition Commission
- First to act for multiple parties in a decided price-fixing cartel in Singapore
- First to publish a book on Competition Law in Singapore
Meet the team
Team leader Kala Anandarajah is a member of the Competition Roundtable established by the Competition Commission of Singapore. She is supported by partners Andrew Ong, also a member of the Competition Roundtable and a leading practitioner in Information Technology, Telecommunications and Media Law, and Dominique Lombardi, who brings to the Practice her extensive experience of more than a decade in European Competition Law
We also have a talented team of associates, including a lawyer with a PhD in Competition Law from King’s College, London, as well as lawyers from different jurisdictions such as Canada and Indonesia.
Regional reach
Our expertise extends far beyond Singapore, with the team also advising a number of large conglomerates and multinational corporations on regional competition laws, including competition and antitrust laws and regulations in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
In our regional work, we are strongly supported by Rajah and Tann’s offices in Shanghai and Malaysia (associate firm), and also by the firm’s Japan, Indonesia, South Asia and Indochina Practices.
WITHIN THIS PRACTICE
Practice areas
Mergers & Acquisitions
Within this arena, we routinely help our clients in the following ways:
- Reviewing – We carefully study structural changes in businesses, whether by acquisition, merger or other divestment, to ascertain the competition impact in the relevant markets.
- Recommending – Based on the results of the review and risks, we take a commercial approach on whether to recommend obtaining a merger clearance, thus avoiding if possible a costly and time-consuming notification process when not absolutely required.
- Notifying – Where recommended, we prepare the notification, liaise with the Competition Commission and obtain clearance for the merger.
- Guiding on cross-border transactions – We analyse the impact of transactions across various jurisdictions and guide on the notification processes if required.
- Objecting – We lodge objections on behalf of clients to mergers notified which will result in a substantial lessening of competition.
- Understanding business priorities – We always balance the commercial needs of the client with a need for legal compliance and certainty.
Cartels & Abuses of Dominance
Our expertise in this area encompasses:
- Advising – We review and advise on all aspects of competition laws issues and providing businesses with practical and commercial solutions to any identified competition concern.
- Training – We develop compliance programmes and carry out all necessary training for businesses.
- Applying for guidance or decision – We obtain guidance and decisions from the Competition Commission in relation to joint ventures, co-operation agreements and other forms of alliances.
- Leniency applications – We help clients to apply for leniency with the Competition Commission and other regulators in relation to international cartels.
- Defending – We defend allegations of infringements of competition laws in Singapore and across the region, whether of cartels or abuse of dominance. Among recent cases, we have:
- Acted for the Express Bus Agencies Association (EBAA) and some of its members in the first price-fixing infringement decision issued by the Competition Commission of Singapore, reducing penalties payable by the parties acted for by up to 75%.
- Acted for a major Indonesian conglomerate involved in a paper cartel extending into Australia amongst other countries and successfully reaching a settlement.
- Acting in the largest global cartel involving fuel surcharges by airline cargo and passengers companies
- Acting in a number of investigations which eventually were not pursued by the Competition Commission, including alleged abuses of dominance by NETS.
- Submitting complaints – We prepare and lodge complaints with the Competition Commission, using the law as a sword.
Regulatory
We play an active role in shaping and influencing the regulatory framework in this area of law:
- Singapore Competition Law – We advised numerous corporations in providing feedback on the competition legislation when first introduced in Singapore.
- Sectoral Codes – We drafted the Singapore Airport Competition Code 2009, and we advise on the application of, and revisions to, sectoral Codes, such as the MDA Code Of Practice For Market Conduct In The Provision Of Mass Media Services
- Sectoral Regulators – We advise on competition law issues in regulated sectors such as energy and transport.
Publications
Competition Law In Singapore – Principles, Practice and Procedure, by Robert Ian Mc Ewin, Kala Anandarajah and Nicolas Chan – Lexis Nexis
Merger Control Worldwide – Singapore, by Kala Anandarajah and Dominique Lombardi edited by Maher Dabbah and Paul Lasok QC – Cambridge University Press
Anti-Cartel Enforcement Worldwide – Singapore, by Kala Anandarajah, Dominique Lombardi and Corinne Chew edited by Maher Dabbah and Barry Hawk – Cambridge University Press
Representatives Industries
Automobile, Aviation, Banking and Finance, Beer and Alcoholic Beverages, Bonding Wire, Bunkering, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Computer Peripherals, Computer Reservation Systems & Global Distribution Systems Construction, Steel, Cement and Concrete, Education, Energy & Power, Insurance, Land Transport, Logistics, Media, Medical Equipment, Music and Entertainment, Manufacturing, Packaging, Paper, Petroleum, Gas and Oil, Publishing, Rubber, Semiconductor, Shipping, Telecommunications, Tobacco, Utilities etc.
Our Trade Law Practice provides counsel and advice for all types of matters involving the import and export of goods, including origin, valuation, exporter verification, strategic goods controls, hazardous goods, licensing and permits requirements, anti-dumping matters, as well as trade related contractual documentation.
The Trade Practice group has enormous experience in handling various import-export based regulatory issues, including issues dealing with strategic goods and encryption related goods, trade restrictions and trade sanctions, anti-dumping concerns, product recalls and trade disputes.
Our clients include manufacturers, exporters, importers and end users from various jurisdictions such as the USA, UK, Hong Kong, China, India and Indonesia, to name a few. We also act regularly for various Singapore and regional companies on trade law related reviews and employee training.
WITHIN THIS PRACTICE
Practice areas
Export / Import Controls & WTO Issues
We provide a broad range of services in relation to export and import control, including implementation of internal compliance programs to ensure compliance with Singapore and international export control requirements, employee training, obtaining permits from the Customs and various Singapore Regulatory Bodies, providing advice on classification of goods, valuation as well as import verification, and coordinating issues at a regional level. A sample of our experience in export and import controls matters include:
- Advise extensively on permit and other requirements relating to import and export of semiconductors, telecommunications related products, books and publications, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, chemicals and petrochemicals, poisons and various other products.
- Advise on issues relating to strategic goods, where the appropriate permits were not obtained for export of the strategic goods, and assisting with clearing the export.
- Advise in cases involving liaison with several countries’ customs regarding strategic and other goods being detained due to inaccurate trade documents having been obtained, and arranging to have the goods release.
- Advise on trade structuring and preparation of documentation to ensure most commercially efficient solution for imports and exports as well as valuation.
- Advise on issues relating to country of origin of various types of products.
- Conduct extensive training on rules of origin and other trade related matters for various trade and regulatory bodies across Asia.
- Advise extensively on a number of issues from time to time arising out of the United Nations Transboundary Transportation of Hazardous Goods Convention.
- Advice on customs and valuation across various jurisdictions.
Trade Sanctions
We provide a range of legal advice concerning international trade issues, such as embargoes and blocking regulations involving countries such as Iran, Iraq, Israel and Libya. Some of the matters that we have handled include:
- Advise on the imposition of export-import boycott requirements into a trade related agreement involving Israel.
- Advise on the export-import of goods into Liberia, Iraq, and various other Middle Eastern countries, focusing on trade sanctions and trade restrictions.
- Advise on the supply of sanctioned goods to Iran from the view of various jurisdictions, including Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA, South Africa, China, Indonesia and various European countries.
Anti Dumping
We provide advise on anti dumping requirements in various jurisdictions, recommend strategies to avoid or minimise anti dumping duties, as well as develop offensive or defensive legal and policy strategies to protect our clients’ interests. Our experience includes the following:
- Advise on anti-dumping concerns arising from trade issues, crossing the EU and various Asian countries.
- Advise on defending anti dumping actions.
- Assist in managing the pricing of the products so as to ensure relevant anti dumping rules are not violated.
- Advise on strategic plans on how to raise complains involving anti dumping.
- Conduct extensive training on anti dumping issues.
International Logistics, Warehousing & Other Agreements
We have been involved in all forms of preparatory steps in relation to the logistical
and warehousing aspects of international trade, including reviewing agreements in relation to the packing, labelling, documentation, insurance requirements and warehousing. We have advised clients on issues such as:
- Drafting and reviewing warehousing arrangements and contracts for various multinational corporations involving both tax issues and commercial documents.
- Structuring trans-boundary trade transactions, including ascertaining whether ex-works, FCA or other approaches work best and drafting relevant documentation.
- Advice extensively on a number of issues from time to time relating to the United Nations Sale of Goods Convention.
Product Recall
We manage all aspects associated with product recalls and / or corrective action. Some of the matters that we have handled include:
- Advise extensively and intimately on the Singapore law aspects and coordinate the recall in Singapore of products manufactured and distributed by corporations based in the EU and elsewhere.
- Advise extensively at different times on the Singapore law aspects on product recall issues involving goods in the medical industry, the semiconductor industry and in the electronics industry, amongst others.
- Liaise with the relevant regulatory authority including the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), the Singapore Customs, the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore), the INFOCOMM Development Authority (IDA), the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), various Ministries as well as other government and international bodies regulating products.