Competition on the Merit: Should the State-Owned Enterprises Be subjected under Thai Competition Law?
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Abstract
This is a qualitative research aiming to study legal difficulites on State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) under competition laws of Thailand and other jurisdictions, to study benefits and drawbacks of subjecting SOEs under Thai competition law, and to suggest prescription of a notificaiton for SOEs exemption on case-by-case basis which is based on consideration of anti-competitive behavior.
The findings of the research indicates that the legal difficulty of Thai competiton law is the “blanket exemption” of SOEs from Thai competition law. This difficulty results direct negative effects to Thai competition regime. The research studies the case of the EU and the US competition law regarding SOEs. It has been found that both jurisdictions do not provide blanket exemption to SOEs but rather adopt targeted exemptions or special treatments based on specific circumstances on case-by-case basis. They also provide clear criteria for such targeted exemptions.
The research suggests prescription of a notificaiton for SOEs exemption on case-by-case basis which is based on consideration of anti-competitive behavior by the authority given under Section 17(2) of the Competition Act 2017.
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