1. Combatting Corruption with Thailand Competition Law
Ploykaew Porananond
Chiang Mai University

2. Historical Overview of Thailand Competition Laws
Price Control and Antimonopoly Act
Price control of goods and services and monopoly control
1979
Thai Trade Competition Act
Financial sector reconstruction
1999
Reformation
2017
Historical Overview of Thailand Competition Laws

3. Political Context of the Recent enactment
National Council for Peace and Order took power since 22 May 2014
National Reform Council
Established by virtue of the National Reform Act
Tasked with creating plans for reform
Issued 37 reform plans; prevention of corruption, access to power/political parties system … monopoly and fair competition
Dissolved in 2015 after failing to pass a new Constitution
Replaced by National Reform Steering Assembly and then Law Reform Commission of Thailand

4. The Long Journey of Thailand Competition Law
Public consultation
2015
First draft
2016
The National Legislative unanimAssemblyously voted to pass the new bill
24 March 2017
Signed into law
2 July 2017
The Long Journey of Thailand Competition Law

5. Overview of the new law Wider scope of application
State owned enterprise is no longer excluded
With the exception of those in the domain of national security, public interest, or infrastructure
Similar substantive contents
Prohibition of abuse of dominant position, anticompetitive agreements, merger control
Change in sanction
Abolish universally criminal sanction
Reformation of the commission
Independent entity

6. Simple questions
Why is the law enacted under the authoritarian regime?
How can Thailand competition law be used to help combat corruption?
Substantive possibilities
Structural limitations

7. Competition Law and Thailand Military
Generally, the military is opposed to competition
Thailand military has a longstanding economic interest
Direct
Indirect

8. Linkage between Corruption and competition Law
Similar goal
To address market dysfunction
Anti-competitive behavior occurs in tandem with corruption
For example, in public procurement
It follows that highly competitive market drives away corruption
However, competition law cannot address systematic corruption

9. Thailand Competition Law and Corruption
Difficulties in Addressing Corruption in Thailand
Ranked 101 out of 176 in corruption perceptions index
Close ties between political and economic sector
The system is fueled by clientelism
Removal of explicit reference to anti-corruption in the law
Withdrawal from the corruption narrative
Standard substantive provisions to deal with corruption
Public procurement

10. Structural Limitations
Competing tools to deal with corruption
Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases
Recent example of possible competition issue: AOT-King Power Duty Free
Minimal cooperation
Concentrating on sectoral regulators
Interference in the appointment of commissioners
Appointed by the Prime Minister upon the recommendation of the Council of the Ministers from a list proposed by leading bureaucrats

11. Where do We Go From Here
General consensus remains positive in the enforcement of the new competition law
Expectance to use competition law to curb bid-rigging
It remains to be seen whether it will be applied to address corruption cases