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In 2020, ESCWA, in partnership with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), launched the Arab Competition Forum, aimed at establishing a continual knowledge-sharing platform on competition policy and enforcement for Arab stakeholders. The Forum is an important platform for advancing advocacy and knowledge, and for building capacity on best practices in competition across the region. The Forum provides a common channel for advancing knowledge and best practices in competition, and facilitating coordination and collaboration at the national, regional, and international levels.
The Fourth Arab Competition Forum is organized by ESCWA, in collaboration with UNCTAD, OECD, and the General Authority for Competition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (GAC), and other partners. The two-day event will build on the momentum of the previous forums. Competition authorities in member States will benefit from peer learning based on international case studies and best practices provided by their counterparts from different countries.
This year's Forum will focus on discussing mergers and acquisitions, as well as enhancing the effectiveness of competition authorities in developing and least developed countries. In addition, it will examine best practices for planning and conducting market studies as well as concerns arising from abuse of dominance in digital markets.
The objectives of the Fourth Arab Competition Forum for the Arab Region are to:
Mergers and acquisitions refer to the consolidation of companies or their major business assets through financial transactions between companies. These processes have a direct impact on the structure of markets, and therefore on competition in these markets. Therefore, monitoring and accepting mergers and acquisitions is one of the most important tasks undertaken by competition authorities around the world.
These tasks that the competition authorities carry out with the aim of controlling mergers and acquisitions are of great importance in regulating markets and controlling anti-competitive practices. These tasks are also considered one of the main principles in effective competition law and policy and their enforcement. However, awareness about the importance of such interventions is still limited in the Arab region, especially in academia and among consumers. Therefore, this challenge provides an opportunity for universities to conduct research in the field that needs more focus in the Arab region. The Student Competition Challenge in the Arab Region offers a unique opportunity for college students to enter the field of competition.
The Fourth Arab Competition Forum provides an opportunity for university students majoring in studies related to economics, business, and law to participate in the challenge by submitting a research paper that includes a case study before the deadline set in April 2023. The paper, which will be produced in the Arabic language, presents case studies on mergers and acquisitions from the Arab region and/or outside the region, with an explanation of the impact on competition resulting from these operations. The paper will also present the interventions of and the roles of competition authorities, in addition to presenting recommendations, solutions, and innovative methodologies to protect competition and ensure the effective enforcement of competition policies in this regard. Winning students will have the opportunity to attend the Forum and attend the ceremony in a special event on the first day of the Forum.
It is worth noting that this is the second edition of the Challenge after the first edition was held in the Sultanate of Oman, as part of the activities of the Third Arab Competition Forum.
Challenge objectives:
We have extended the registration deadline until 16 March 2023
Submit your paper by 20 April 2023
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Tuesday, 23 May, 10:30am-12:00pm
Session coordinator: ESCWA
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Every competition agency must overcome obstacles to enforce its competition law. But for developing jurisdictions these obstacles are often more acute, numerous and reinforced by challenges specific to these jurisdictions. A lack of a competition culture, or even a hostile environment, created by government, business and society at large can hinder the work of an agency with few resources. Relations with regulators as well as other parts of government can take on a particular complexity when competition authorities are young, lack resources and influence. This lack of resources, along with other institutional design issues, or inadequate legislation can further distance these authorities from success. The session will also discuss the challenges of young authorities, particularly those in developing countries and suggest mechanisms to address these challenges. The panellists will bring international, regional and national perspectives and examples to the discussion.
Name, title organization, country
Name, title organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Tuesday, 23 May, 1:30pm- 3:00 pm
Session coordinator: OECD
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Markets do not always work efficiently, harming consumers and society. When this happens, competition authorities may seek to better understand the dynamics of competition in a given market or sector, in order to identify the reasons for poor performance and recommend policy options for dealing with them. Market studies usually involve an in-depth assessment of market structures or competitive conditions in a given sector; and aim to detect inefficiencies arising from weak competition, even if they do not identify behaviour violating competition laws. There are conceptual and procedural differences regarding market studies among competition authorities. This session will examine different approaches in identifying target markets, planning and conducting market studies.
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Name, title organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 9:00 - 10:30 am
Session coordinator: ESCWA
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Cross-border merger control is complex involving jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues. These types of mergers raise specific challenges for competition authorities reviewing the transaction in multiple jurisdictions. Most importantly, the countries involved must have effective merger control regimes. For an effective review of cross-border transactions, and to ensure consistent decisions, a high degree of co-ordination and co-operation between the competition authorities involved is essential whether multilateral, regional or bilateral. This session will discuss cross-border merger control and also provide examples of regional efforts.
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Name, title, organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 11:00am - 12:30pm
Session coordinator: UNCTAD
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Many digital markets exhibit certain characteristics, such as low variable costs, high fixed costs and strong network effects, that result in high market shares for a small number of firms. In some cases, these lead to “competition for the market” dynamics, in which a single firm captures the vast majority of sales. This session will discuss the main types of abuse of dominance concerns that can emerge in digital markets, what makes these markets unique, and how competition authorities around the world tackled the challenges described above.
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Name, title organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Session coordinator: tbd
Format: Closed Session / Hybrid
In this session, competition authorities from member States will present national case studies and/or competition developments since the 3rd Arab Competition Forum, held in May 2022.
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Name, title organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Tuesday, 23 May, 9:45 - 10:15 am
Format: open sessionBroadcasted live
Participating Saudi Arabian universities have been invited to prepare an original case study on a subject related to mergers and acquisitions. During this special ceremonial session, awards will be granted to the winners of the competition challenge
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Name, title organization, country
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Session coordinator: ESCWA and partners
Format: Open session / Hybrid
During this session, participants will highlight lessons learned and main intervention areas needed to advance competition in the Arab region along with agreeing on concrete recommendations on enhancing competition policy and enforcement in member states. ESCWA and its partners will present their plans moving forward, highlighting the important role of international cooperation in improving competition.
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Name, title organization, country
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coming soon
Powered by UN-ESCWA, the Arab Competition Hub Linkedin group seeks to connect stakeholders involved in the field of Competition in the Arab region and across the world, including competition authorities, experts, academics, and other professionals in the private sector, with the purpose of sharing knowledge, experience, and best practices, and thus, facilitating dialogue. Join the group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14037017/
Ms. Nathalie Khaled, coordinator of the Competition and Consumer Protection Project at ESCWA, talks about the third Arab Competition Forum, which was held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, on May 24 and 25, and the most prominent recommendations that emerged from it, and the importance of competition for the economies of the region.