This year's event is dedicated to the topic "Towards Competitive Markets, Transformation and Deconcentration."
On September 28-29, the 17th Annual Competition Law, Economics and Policy Conference is taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the event, global competition law experts, economists, academics and industry stakeholders will delve into critical issues around competition regulation, enforcement, transformation and the development of appropriate legal standards within the field. Conference participants will share their insights on the current state of competitive markets and the path toward fostering an inclusive, growing and deconcentrated economy. The theme of this year's conference: "Towards Competitive Markets, Transformation and Deconcentration."
Doris Tshepe, Commissioner of the Competition Commission of South Africa, opened the conference and spoke about the results of the agency's work over the past year and the main areas of focus for the regulator in the future. In her speech, she paid special attention to the topic of public interest considerations in the antitrust enforcement process.
South Africa has developed an approach to competition policy that balances traditional competition law considerations with the public interest, particularly in terms of market concentration, access to competitive markets for small and medium-sized enterprises, and employment considerations for the public, in particular the "historically disadvantaged persons" (persons who have been socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged by past discriminatory laws or practices). The Commission applies Guidelines on the Assessment of Public Interest Provisions in Merger Regulation. Public interests must be included to improve the functioning of the competitive market, said Doris Tshepe.
She also announced the publication of draft revised public interest guidelines which now clarified that the competition and public interest assessment were equal in status and that a public interest assessment was mandatory in all merger transactions, whether or not they were likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition.
Some R67 billion of new investments flowed into the South African economy while safeguarding 236 000 jobs as a result of the Competition Commission's proactive approach and application of the public interest conditions over the past five years, said the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel.
Minister Patel said that approximately 22 000 jobs were created during the same period through the implementation of public interest conditions within the corporate sector. He further explained how R20 billion in salaries had been preserved as a direct result of these public interest interventions, while approximately 143 000 workers were now shareholders in their respective companies, thanks to the expansion of public interest criteria.
He said the conditions unlocked R19 billion in cumulative local procurement, with a focus on prioritising procurement from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and black-owned firms, as close to R1 billion was invested in skills development programs as part of merger commitments, benefiting employees and local communities. Minister Patel reaffirmed the government’s commitment to using public interest conditions as a strategic tool for advancing economic transformation and promoting equitable growth in South Africa.
The six thematic sessions of the conference will discuss this topic, as well as the development of cooperation on the competition protocol adopted by several African States under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, food inflation, competition in the transition to national health insurance and the development of a more competitive and sustainable energy market.
Furthermore, there will be a dedicated panel discussion on how recent amendments to the Competition Act and various court rulings have shaped legal standards in competition law and their implications for the future.
Participants include Molly Askin, Counsel for International Antitrust at the Federal Trade Commission's Office of International Affairs; Tony Ehrenreich, Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU); Alexey Ivanov, Director of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre; Mark Niefer, Deputy chief, Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice (DOJ); Fatima Hassan, Director of the Health Justice Initiative; and others.
“In addition to the crucial discussions, the conference will offer valuable networking opportunities to industry role players and policymakers. Fellow attendees can connect, exchange ideas, and foster collaboration toward the acceleration of an inclusive and deconcentrated economy,”
says the South African Competition Commission's media statement.
