Competition Law, Regulation and SMEs in the Asia-Pacific: Understanding the Small Business Perspective

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 90 per cent of all businesses in the Asia-Pacific region ― an area which is rapidly updating its competition laws and regulations to encourage greater entrepreneurship and open, dynamic economies.

Yet SMEs are almost invisible when those competition policies and laws are developed and enforced. SMEs are often quite different businesses than large, multinational corporations, but their nature, significance and characteristics are often overlooked.

This book seeks to rectify the relative neglect in research and policy discussions on the role of the SME sector in competition policy and law. Drawing on contributions from a wide range of competition regulators, lawyers, academics, consultants and advisers to the SME sector, it addresses such important issues as:

- perceptions and views of small businesses about competition law;
- regulator engagement and education of the SME sector;
- the link between competition law and economic growth;
- franchising, SMEs and competition law;
- issues in enforcing competition law against SMEs;
- the role of Chinese family firms;
- trade, professional and industry associations;
- country case studies from Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and the Pacific Islands.

“This book is an important step in remedying the gaps in our knowledge and policy of this important area.” ―Dr Alan Bollard, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat

Michael T. Schaper is a Visiting Senior Fellow with the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore and an Adjunct Professor with the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University, Western Australia.

Cassey Lee is senior fellow and co-coordinator of the Regional Economic Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.