Finland’s new Competition Act becomes effective on 1 November 2011. The main amendments relate to merger control, penalties, the procedure adhered to in the review of competition issues and damages. The FCA has published guidelines (in Finnish) on the new Act for merger control, leniency procedure, penalties, and case prioritization.

Merger notification form – Hungary   The Hungarian Competition Authority has initiated a public consultation on the draft of the Hungarian merger notification form and on the draft of the informal meetings related to the merger review.

  Recently, with the enactment of a new law, the Competition Authority of Kenya was created, replacing the Monopolies and Prices Commission. See the new website and read about A New Dawn for Competition Regulation in Kenya. The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) is one of the ICN’s newest members. Check out their new website, that […]

  The UK OFT is consulting on two revised guidance documents, setting out proposals to update its approach to financial penalties and to awarding leniency in competition cases. Final versions of both guidance documents will be produced in Spring 2012.

  On October 28, Chile’s Fiscalia Nacional Economica celebrates its 2011 Día de la Competencia. Felicitaciones!

  Rod Sims was appointed Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in August 2011 for a five year term.  Rod has extensive business and public sector experience.  Immediately prior to his appointment to the ACCC, he was the Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales, Commissioner on […]

  Last month, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness/el Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO), with the support of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), presented a study on ‘the best and the worst in the promotion of competition in government procurement’/‘ los mejores y los peores […]

  One of the ICN’s newest members – Nicaragua’s Procompetencia – has recently posted it Law for the Promotion of Competition in English. ICNBlog welcomes the Procompetencia to the ICN!

  The CNC has been focusing lately on the postal sector in Spain and has published a report:  Report on the new regulatory framework for the traditional postal sector in Spain: Full report in English. Before, the CNC has participated in the legislative process of the new postal law by issuing a Report on Universal […]

  The Turkish Competition Authority recently issued a statement concerning the cover bidding practice in public procurements, noting that “cover bidding on any grounds for the sake of formality is prohibited and wrong.”  A federal court in Australia recently found that ‘cover pricing’ conduct is a form of cartel behavior.