What are regulations on the assessment of anti-competitive effects of causing significant anti-competitive effects of economic concentration regimes in Vietnam?

What are regulations on the assessment of anti-competitive effects of causing significant anti-competitive effects of economic concentration regimes in Vietnam? - image from internet

Pursuant to Article 15 of the Decree 35/2020/ND-CP (effective from 15/05/2020) stipulating the above issue:

1. Joint market share of enterprises participating in the economic concentration program in the relevant market before and after economic concentration.

2. Level of concentration in the relevant market before and after the economic concentration which is assessed for the purpose of determining the threat of creating or reinforcing the market power of an enterprise, the ability to increase coordination and collusion among enterprises in the relevant market.

3. d) Relationship between enterprises participating in the economic concentration program in the same chain of production, distribution and supply of a certain product or service, or business sectors or industries of enterprises engaging in the economic concentration program that are providing input or supporting products or services for each other. This shall be assessed for the purpose of proving that, after completion of the economic concentration program, participating enterprises will have capabilities of creating more competitive advantages than their competitors in order to impede or rule out market entry competition.

4. Competitive advantages brought about by enterprises’ economic concentration in the relevant market. This shall be overall assessed by considering advantages in terms of their product characteristics, chains of production and distribution, financial capacity, brands, technologies, intellectual property rights and other advantages of these enterprises after economic concentration in the context of relationship with their competitors in the relevant market, which leads to the threat of creating or reinforcing the significant market power of enterprises incorporated after economic concentration.

5. Likelihood of appreciation or increase in the profit margin of an enterprise after economic concentration. This shall be evaluated based on one or some of the following factors:

a) Projected changes on the demand side which shall be assessed in anticipation of the fact that, after completion of the economic concentration program, the participating enterprise may appreciate and change their production or conditions for transaction of their products and services in the relevant market;

b) Projected changes on the supply side of enterprises which shall be assessed in anticipation of the fact that, after completion of the economic concentration program, their competitors in the relevant market may appreciate and change their production or conditions for transaction of their products and services;

c) Projected changes in prices, production output and conditions for transaction of suppliers of products or services that are input factors of enterprises participating in the economic concentration program;

d) Competitor’s conditions for and threats from increases in cooperation or agreement between them for the purpose of elevating their selling prices or profit margins;

dd) Other factors causing effects on likelihood of appreciation or increase in the profit margin of an enterprise after economic concentration.

6. Likelihood of a post-economic concentration enterprise's elimination of or impediment to other enterprises’ entry into or expansion of their market. This shall be determined based on one or some of the following factors:

a) Degree of control of production and business input factors before and after the economic concentration;

b) Intra-sector or industry competitive characteristics and competitive behaviors of enterprises participating in the economic concentration program during the period before economic concentration;

c) Barriers to market entry and expansion stated in Article 8 herein;

d) Other factors that lead to the likelihood of a post-economic concentration enterprise's elimination of or impediment to other enterprises’ entry into or expansion of their market.

7. Specific factors in the sectors or industries that enterprises engaging in the economic concentration program may take into consideration if those factors directly affect or significantly change the results of the evaluation of anti-competitive effects of the economic concentration regime prescribed in regulations of this Article.

Above are regulations on the assessment of anti-competitive effects of causing significant anti-competitive effects of economic concentration regimes in Vietnam.

Best regards!