Introduction The blockchain industry is undergoing tremendous development and expansion, with new applications and technology constantly appearing. In Hong Kong, blockchain-based industries and activities, such as cryptocurrencies, are gaining popularity and attention. As these industries grow, they must be governed in a manner that fosters competition and protects consumers. Competition law in Hong Kong is…

With the exponential growth of technological advancement, our legal, social and economic systems need to respond promptly to creative incentives for disruptive innovators in the marketplace. In a speech delivered in February 2018, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division advocated that “those countries that have designed their…

Important new developments are reported in the first case under Hong Kong’s cross-sector antitrust statute, the Competition Ordinance (“Ordinance“), in effect since December 2015. The hearing for the case is scheduled in June/July 2018. Under the Ordinance, enforcement action may only be undertaken by the Competition Commission (“HKCC“), and by the Communications Authority in the…

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance rejected a claim that it had jurisdiction to determine whether a trade association violated the Competition Ordinance. The court reasoned that determination of a breach of the Competition Ordinance was reserved for the Competition Tribunal. In the absence of a right of standalone private action under Hong Kong…

On 28 November 2016, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (“HKCC“) published an advisory bulletin calling upon the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Hong Kong Institute of Planners to take appropriate action to remove or amend certain provisions in their respective codes of conduct which raised competition concerns. While such associations, as statutory bodies,…

Speaking at a recent conference in Hong Kong, the President of the Hong Kong Competition Tribunal, Mr Justice Godfrey Lam, examined whether parties might seek remedies for anti-competitive acts in Hong Kong based on common law economic torts without relying on follow-on actions under the Competition Ordinance. A follow-on action is a private action for…

On 29 January 2016, the Court of First Instance of Hong Kong ruled in favour of TVB and against the Communications Authority (the “CA”), in the ‘no Cantonese’ policy abuse of dominance case. The 2013 decision by the CA, in which the broadcaster was fined nearly HKD 1 million under the sector-specific competition rules of…