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Antitrust and Competition

Antitrust and Competition

Key Contacts

Cambodia

Laos

Myanmar

Thailand

Vietnam

OVERVIEW

Strategic competition guidance across Southeast Asia.

Tilleke & Gibbins’ Antitrust & Competition practice delivers practical, business-focused guidance to companies operating across a rapidly evolving competition law landscape. We advise on both behavioral controls—including abuse of dominance, cartel conduct, and unfair trade practices—and structural controls, particularly merger control and notification requirements.

As competition regimes across Southeast Asia continue to mature and converge, we assist clients in navigating a broad spectrum of competition law issues. Our work includes multi-jurisdictional merger control analysis and filings for cross-border and domestic M&A transactions, competition assessments for trade and distribution contracts, defense strategy against investigations and claims, and consultation on sale and marketing campaigns, sector-specific regulations, and emerging digital platform frameworks. We develop commercially pragmatic legal and commercial strategies that facilitate trade, commerce, and investment while maintaining full compliance with applicable competition laws.

A key strength of our practice is our close collaboration with select international and domestic economic consulting firms. For complex matters, we deliver integrated legal and economic analysis covering market definition, competitive effects, damages assessment, and merger filing support.

We also provide tailored competition law training programs, including compliance training and dawn raid preparedness, to help in‑house teams mitigate regulatory risk and respond effectively to enforcement action.

Experience

  • Assisted DSV Panalpina A/S (DSV) with merger filing requirements in Thailand in connection with its USD 4.2 billion global acquisition of Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) from Agility.
  • Assisted Kuehne+Nagel, a global leader in freight forwarding and contract logistics, with merger control analysis and filing in Thailand related to its acquisition of shares in City Zone Express.
  • Collaborated with the largest Japanese law firm in advising SBH on market analysis, competition assessment, premerger filings, and TCCT compliance for the merger of 3K and FB, Thailand’s second- and third-largest lead-acid battery manufacturers, and assisted with implementing postmerger remedies imposed by the TCCT.
  • Advised Jack Chia Industries (Thailand) PCL on merger control implications of its subsidiary Pharma Care Limited’s acquisition of a pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing facility from 3M Thailand Limited, a market leader in first-aid dressing products (including Nexcare and Neoplast brands).
  • Assisted Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. in localizing its internal competition law policies and dawn raid guidelines for its Thai entities and delivered training on competition law compliance and TCCT dawn raid procedures.
  • Advised Roche Thailand Ltd. on a broad range of legal matters in Thailand, including extensive advice on antitrust compliance for sales and marketing practices and review of distribution agreements.
  • Reviewed FMC AG (Thailand) Ltd.’s distribution agreement and advised on compliance with Thailand’s Trade Competition Act, with particular focus on pricing structures, margin calculation mechanisms, and resale price maintenance.
  • Advised Restaurants Development Co., Ltd., a franchisee of KFC restaurants in Thailand, on competition law risks associated with franchise rights, including restrictions on the expansion of franchise outlets.
  • Provided cross-practice legal advice to Hthai (Thailand) Company Limited, the Thai importer and retailer of clothing under the global H&M brand, on regulatory issues relating to unfair trade practices and intellectual property.
  • Advised Gojek on compliance with antitrust and competition law requirements in Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Assisted Yara International in localizing competition law training materials for Thailand as part of an e-learning program and revised content to align with the new Thai Trade Competition Act and local market practices.
  • Delivered in-house training to Rockwool (Thailand) Ltd., a leading manufacturer of sustainable insulation products, on competition law compliance, bid rigging, and dawn raid procedures.

PROFESSIONALS

RELATED INSIGHTS

July 8, 2026
On July 7, 2026, the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) issued a press release announcing the establishment of two new subcommittees designed to intensify oversight of digital platforms and modern trade businesses. The formation of the digital platform subcommittee marks a significant escalation in competition enforcement following the TCCT’s Guidelines on Multi-Sided Platforms and E-Commerce Businesses, which took effect on March 25, 2026. Platform operators, sellers, and related service providers should expect heightened regulatory scrutiny and potential investigations into practices already flagged under the March guidelines. Two Dedicated Enforcement Bodies The first new body is the digital platform subcommittee—formally the Subcommittee on Supervision, Monitoring, and Prevention of Trade Conduct in Digital Platform Business. It is tasked with driving intensive oversight of digital platform businesses. It will coordinate with government agencies, the private sector, business operators, and other relevant stakeholders to supervise and prevent trade conduct that may affect competition, and to promote free and fair competition in the digital platform sector. The subcommittee will be composed of TCCT members and representatives from the Department of Internal Trade. The second body—the Subcommittee on Determining Guidelines and Action Plans Concerning Competition Conditions in Modern Wholesale and Retail Business—will study, analyze, and monitor market structure in modern wholesale and retail businesses, compile databases to analyze retail business concentration, assess impacts on small-scale operators, and propose supervisory measures for the retail sector. TCCT members will serve on the subcommittee alongside experts from government and private organizations, including the Office of Industrial Economics, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, the Thai SME Federation, and the Thai SME Council. Operational Impact for Industry Participants These subcommittees provide the TCCT with a focused mechanism to investigate various trade practices deemed unfair, and the TCCT has authority under the Trade Competition Act to issue cease-and-desist
April 15, 2026
On March 31, 2026, Vietnam’s government issued Decree 102/2026/ND-CP (Decree 102), which amends Decree 75/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for competition law violations (Decree 75). Effective from May 20, 2026, the new decree introduces a number of significant changes aimed at strengthening enforcement, revising penalty structures, and broadening the range of remedial measures, primarily for violations related to economic concentration. Revised Penalties for Economic Concentration Violations Decree 102 significantly revises the penalties for violations related to economic concentration. Failure to notify an economic concentration; implementing an economic concentration before clearance Under the new framework, Articles 14 and 15 of Decree 75 have been amended to impose a range of monetary fines, rather than relying solely on percentage‑based penalties as under the previous regime, for violations involving the failure to notify an economic concentration or the implementation of an economic concentration prior to clearance. The fines range from VND 500 million to VND 1 billion for each enterprise participating in a concentration with combined assets, revenues, or purchase value below VND 3,000 billion in the preceding fiscal year, capped at 5% of the violating enterprise’s total turnover in the relevant market. For concentrations meeting or exceeding the VND 3,000 billion threshold across those same metrics, the fines increase to VND 1 billion to VND 2 billion per enterprise, also subject to the 5% cap. These differentiated thresholds allow penalties to better reflect the size of the transaction and its potential competitive impact. Non-compliance with conditional approvals Enterprises that do not implement or only partially implement the conditions specified in a conditional economic concentration approval decision face fines ranging from 1% to 3% of total turnover in the relevant market during the fiscal year preceding the violation. Decree 102 also adds a new remedial measure requiring enterprises to fully implement all conditions
March 30, 2026
On March 24, 2026, the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) published its long-anticipated Guidelines on Multi-Sided Platforms and E-Commerce Businesses in the Government Gazette, following the conclusion of a public hearing conducted last year. The guidelines entered into force on March 25, 2026, and significantly expand the application of Thai competition law to digital platform ecosystems. These rules introduce targeted restrictions on platform conduct, such as price-ranking algorithms and tying and bunding, that leverages network effects, and will have far-reaching implications across Thailand’s digital economy—affecting not only platform operators but also platform participants, including sellers, logistics providers, advertisers, and payment service providers operating on or alongside such platforms. The guidelines clarify how existing prohibitions under the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) (TCA)—including abuse of market dominance, cartel conduct, and unfair trade practices—apply in the context of platform-based business models. While many provisions reflect earlier draft guidelines, the final version delivers more precise definitions and clearer enforcement parameters, increasing regulatory certainty while also raising compliance expectations. Applicability The guidelines introduce core definitions that determine their coverage: Multi-sided platform: A platform that acts as an intermediary connecting two or more groups of users, enabling them to have direct interaction in order to exchange or rely on services from one another. Examples include digital platforms for trading goods or services (e-commerce), as defined below. Digital platform for trading goods or services (e-commerce): A platform that acts as an intermediary connecting the distribution, purchase, sale, or exchange of goods or services. This includes operations carried out to facilitate transactions or interactions between business operators through an electronic transaction system, regardless of whether a service fee is charged. Operator of a digital platform business for trading goods or services: A provider of digital platform services for trading goods or services, as described
February 25, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has updated the Vietnam chapter in the newly released Licensing 2026 guide, published by Lexology Panoramic. The comparative guide provides companies and other interested readers with information on licensing law and practice in various countries around the world. Licensing 2026 provides detailed information on the following topics: Restrictions, laws and licensing arrangements Intellectual property issues: Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, contesting the validity of licensor’s IP rights, invalidity and expiry of IP rights, security interests, proceedings against third parties, sublicensing, jointly owned IP, first to file, scope of patent protection, trade secrets, copyright Software licensing: Perpetual licensing, legal requirements, user restrictions Royalties and payments, currency conversion, and taxes: Relevant legislation, restrictions, taxation of foreign licensors Competition law issues: Restrictions on trade, legal restrictions, and IP-related court rulings Indemnification, disclaimers, and damages: Prevalence and enforceability of indemnity provisions and contractual waivers of damages Termination: Right to terminate, impact of termination Bankruptcy: Impact of licensee or licensor bankruptcy Dispute resolution: Governing law, arbitration, enforceability, injunctive relief, contractual waivers The Vietnam chapter is available below as a PDF. Readers can gain 30 days of complementary access to the full Licensing 2026 guide and the rest of Lexology Panoramic’s varied offerings through this link.
AWARDS & RANKINGS
May 11, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has continued to show excellent performance in the recently released Benchmark Litigation 2026 rankings for dispute resolution firms in the Asia-Pacific region. The rankings include two jurisdictions where Tilleke & Gibbins is active: Thailand and Vietnam. Firm Rankings A full summary of the firm’s rankings is provided below: Thailand Commercial & Transactions – Tier 1 Government & Regulatory – Tier 1 Labor & Employment – Tier 1 Intellectual Property – Tier 1 Trade & Customs – Tier 2 Vietnam Commercial & Transactions (Foreign Firms) – Tier 1 Intellectual Property (Foreign Firms) – Tier 1 Labor & Employment (International Firms) – Highly Recommended (top tier awarded in this category) White Collar Crime – Recommended (top tier awarded in this category) Energy & Construction (Foreign Firms) – Tier 2 International Arbitration – Tier 2 Individual Rankings The 2026 edition also recognizes 12 Tilleke & Gibbins lawyers in Thailand—more than any other firm in the jurisdiction—and four in Vietnam. Thailand Alongkorn Tongmee – Trade & Customs Chitchai Punsan – Commercial & Transactions Chusert Supasitthumrong – Labor & Employment John Frangos – Commercial & Transactions Noppramart Thammateeradaycho – Shipping Nuttaphol Arammuang – Intellectual Property Piyawat Vitooraporn – Commercial & Transactions Pongpalin Chantrapirom – Commercial & Transactions Suebsiri Taweepon – Intellectual Property Suruswadee Jaimsuwan – Commercial & Transactions Thawat Damsa-ard – Commercial & Transactions Tiziana Sucharitkul – Commercial & Transactions, Government & Regulatory Vietnam Duc Anh Tran – Commercial & Transactions Linh Duy Mai – Intellectual Property Loc Xuan Le – Intellectual Property Tu Anh Tran – Commercial & Transactions Benchmark Litigation’s annual research is based on interviews with dispute resolution specialists and clients, as well as analysis of recent casework and market developments. To view the full results, please visit the Benchmark Litigation websites for Thailand and Vietnam.
April 16, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in the In-House Community (IHC) Firms of the Year 2025, with acknowledgments across a broad range of practice areas in Thailand and Vietnam. The results are based on feedback from in-house counsel across Asia Pacific, reflecting client perspectives on the quality and responsiveness of legal services. In Thailand, the firm received recognition in 13 categories, including 12 Firm of the Year awards and one Honorable Mention. The Firm of the Year recognitions cover: Antitrust / Competition Capital Markets Corporate & M&A Employment Energy & Projects Intellectual Property International Arbitration Litigation & Dispute Resolution Restructuring & Insolvency Taxation Technology, Media & Telecommunications Most Responsive International Law Firm – Thailand The firm also received an Honorable Mention for Real Estate & Construction. In Vietnam, Tilleke & Gibbins was recognized in seven categories. The firm received Firm of the Year awards in: Employment Intellectual Property Litigation & Dispute Resolution Technology, Media & Telecommunications Most Responsive International Law Firm – Vietnam In addition, the firm received Honorable Mentions for International Arbitration and Real Estate & Construction. The IHC Firms of the Year recognitions are based on voluntary survey responses, client feedback, testimonials, and independent research conducted by the IHC team, rather than a submission-based or benchmarking methodology. While not intended to be exhaustive, the results provide a useful snapshot of client sentiment within the in-house legal community. The full results are available on the IHC website.