Hong Kong’s antitrust watchdog has launched a website to help small and medium-sized enterprises better navigate the Competition Ordinance after a survey showed that only a quarter of firms polled were adequately equipped to comply with the law.
The survey conducted found that more than 70 per cent of the respondents believed the ordinance could help curtail anticompetitive activities in Hong Kong, with an SME representative pointing out that businesses lacked knowledge of the law.
“Through regular meetings with SMEs and the recent survey … we realise that some enterprises may not be able to effectively put in place measures of relevant compliance,” Gary Shiu Moon-cheung, executive director of the commission, said.
“We felt there was more we could do to help with the implementation,” Shiu said, acknowledging that SMEs might not have the resources that large corporations have in hiring a legal team or consultants to help with the compliance of the ordinance.
“Some businesses also said while they have a basic grasp of the ordinance, there was also misunderstanding and confusion, which could be explained in detail through this website to help debunk any myths,” he added.
The survey was conducted from the end of 2023 to last year, involving 1,000 individuals aged 18 to 65 and 600 companies of all sizes – not limited to SMEs – by an independent research agency appointed by the commission.
The poll also found that more than 73 per cent of the individual respondents believed the ordinance was relevant to them as consumers, while 75 per cent of businesses interviewed recognised the importance of creating fair competition.
