Divestiture under Competition Law: A Comparative Study of Foreign and Thai Laws
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Abstract
Foreign competition laws recognize divestiture as a structural remedy. The functions of divestiture order always result in restructuring the market, corporations or activities in order to maintain fair competitiveness of the market. Maintaining fair competition of the market is the primary goal for competition law. The government can decrease any market concentration which restraint the competition by enforcing divestiture order to restructure the market. Divestiture is the most famous structural remedy for US’s antitrust law as well as EU’s competition law. Despite enormous numbers of failure of divestiture orders that drew-back their enforcement in monopolization cases, divestiture is more acceptable and suitable as a structural remedy for the unlawful merger cases.
Recognition of divestiture in all major foreign competition laws remarkably reflects the importance of divestiture. As said, divestiture has been used as the most powerful structural remedy for violation of competition law therefore it would be benefit for Thailand to apply divestiture and use it as a powerful structural remedy under competition law.
In Thailand, divestiture is commonly known as a strategic tool of business sector to eliminate unprofitable business or division, financial exigency or change in the strategic orientation of the business. Whereas, Thailand’s Trade Competition Act B.E. 2542 (1999) (TTCA) implies availability of divestiture application under Section 30 which prescribes power of Thai Trade Commission to issue a written order to amend market share that said to be in common with respect to the outcome of restructuring the market but the Thai Trade Commission has never applied divestiture order to any case where applicable. Therefore, sufficient knowledge and in-depth understanding about divestiture application under competition law together with the appropriate and sufficient determination of violation are vital elements and needed for Thailand to uphold its completion law enforcement. Thus, learning from foreign competition law’s experience should be the most suitable solution for Thailand, as well as the TTCC in implementing the divestiture under its competition law.
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References
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