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Following is a transcript of remarks (English portion) made by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, to the media on the Competition Bill today (October 18):
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: The Chief Executive has said in his Policy Address that the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau would propose amendments to the Competition Bill and discuss them at the Bills Committee to address the concerns of the business sector, in particular those concerns of the SMEs.
The Administration today submitted a paper to the Bills Committee on Competition Bill setting out our responses to concerns on the Bill. We proposed amendments in six areas, namely clarity of the provisions, de minimis arrangements, pecuniary penalty, infringement notice, stand-alone right of private action and the cross-sector merger rules.
The Administration has carefully listened to the views of the Bills Committee; the business sector, in particular SMEs; District Councils; academics; and professional bodies. We hope to be able to address the business concerns, in particular those of the SMEs, while maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the Bill.
I shall explain these proposed amendments in detail to the Legislative Council Bills Committee next Tuesday.
I hope that the scrutiny of the Bill will speed up after our responses. I also hope that the Bill will be enacted within the current legislative session. We are confident that the competition law that Hong Kong will have will be able to protect consumer interests and maintain our competitive edge.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:40
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