Thailand’s new Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) (TCA) was published in the Government Gazette  on July 7 and will come into force on October 5. The new TCA is expected to lead to many significant changes, including establishing a dual merger control system, clarifying the scope of unfair trade practices, expanding the authority of the Trade Competition Commission, providing new methods for calculating penalties and sanctions, and more.

To advise on the significance of changes in the new TCA and how business operators can comply with the new law, Tilleke & Gibbins will be organizing a seminar on the topic of “The New Trade Competition Law in Thailand: Challenges for Business Operators” on Tuesday, August 22, 2017, at the firm’s Bangkok office. The seminar program will be conducted in Thai and will cover the following topics:

• Merger and acquisition control regimes
• Conducts that are deemed to abuse market dominance
• Anticompetitive agreements, cartels, and bid rigging
• Exemptions under the new TCA
• Expanded roles and authorities of the Trade Competition Commission
• Administrative and criminal penalties
• Leniency program
• The extraterritorial application of the law

The seminar will feature presentations by the following distinguished speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Sakda Thanitcul is a Professor of Law and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University. He serves as a qualified member of the Trade Competition Commission, and was previously a member of the advisory team to the chief negotiator in the Japan-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 2003-2004 negotiations and the United States-Thailand FTA 2004-2005 negotiations. He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of C.P. Pokphand Co. Ltd.
• Mr. Santichai Santawanpas is former Deputy Director-General of the Department of Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce. He is currently a qualified member of the Trade Competition Commission, and a member of the National Legislative Assembly Subcommittee on Commerce.

The event will also include a panel discussion and Q&A session moderated by Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh of Tilleke & Gibbins.

For more information about this seminar, please contact Ms. Wariya Sontiang, Coordinator, Marketing & Communications, at [email protected].