On February 18, competition authorities of Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and South Africa announced plans to harmonise merger notification frameworks and start sharing information as part of a push to “work more closely” in scrutinising digital markets across Africa.
A joint statement from the agencies said that while digital markets/services are rapidly transforming the global economy, opening new economic opportunities, and providing substantial benefits to consumers and businesses, theу also present “considerable challenges for competition law enforcement and policy in terms of the unique competition issues that arise”.
“We are required to consider how digital markets impact on domestic participation in the local and global economy and the terms of that participation, beyond simply as a consumer of global tech firm services. Recognizing the greater shared regulatory challenges that digital markets pose for Africa necessitates that African jurisdictions work more closely in order to share knowledge, develop capacity and mutual strategies and provide a stronger and collaborative approach with respect to the regulation of digital markets”,
said the statement.
The agreement provides for:
1. Scoping the conduct in digital markets, that has been the subject of investigation in other jurisdictions, on African consumers, businesses and economies with the purpose of fair regulation and enforcement in Africa (where applicable);
2. Researching the barriers to the emergence and expansion of African digital platforms and firms that may contribute to enhanced competition and inclusion in these markets for the benefit of African consumers and economies;
3. Cooperating in the assessment of global, continental, and regional mergers and acquisitions in digital markets, including harmonizing the notification framework, without prejudice to confidentiality commitments;
4. Sharing information in accordance with existing laws and applicable protocols;
5. Sharing knowledge and building capacity to deal with digital markets.
Source: Compcom.co.za
