Cambodia will approve the draft law on competition in 2020, affirmed Minister of Commerce H.E. Pan Sorasak while presiding over the opening ceremony of the 8th ASEAN Competition Conference held here yesterday under the theme Attaining Milestones and Addressing Challenges.
The draft law on competition, once adopted, along with the already-approved e-commerce and consumer protection laws will play a crucial role in boosting trade, promoting equal competition, creating new businesses, and protecting consumers’ interest in line with the technological evolution, e-commerce and volatile business environment, he underlined.
Moreover, he added, competition policy and law (CPL) constitute a key factor attracting foreign investments to Cambodia, as well as to the whole ASEAN region, providing consumers with various high quality and low-cost products and services, increasing productivity and enhancing creativity, which are main elements to boost national economic growth.
H.E. Minister also called for close cooperation between competition institutions of ASEAN member countries in terms of techniques, knowledge and information sharing to prevent and crack down on all infractions blocking, restricting and ruining competitions both inside their respective countries and in the region.
Mr. Michael Tene, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, shared the same idea as H.E. Pan Sorasak over the strengthening of regional cooperation and mentioned about the formation of ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) to strengthen the regulatory environment in ASEAN, enhance institutional capacity building and law enforcement of CPL in ASEAN, boost cross-border cooperation between competition institutions, and harmonise competition laws in ASEAN.
The 8th ASEAN Competition Conference was co-organised by CamControl General Department of the Ministry of Commerce, ASEAN Secretariat, and GIZ.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press