Overview of global antitrust and merger regimes

Over the past two decades, a significant number of countries have adopted and begun to enforce merger control and competition laws.  These interactive maps provide a general overview of merger control activity, as well as the rapidly evolving competition law regimes in the Asia-Pacific region and in South America. 

The maps are based on knowledge built up through White & Case's long-standing presence and experience throughout the region, its close relationships with local counsel in the area, and on publicly available sources.

South America

Overview of antitrust regimes

Many jurisdictions in South America have enhanced their enforcement of antitrust rules over the past decade.  Brazil has consolidated its position as a significant jurisdiction in terms of antitrust enforcement globally.  Argentina, Colombia, and Chile are also important jurisdictions in the region and are intensifying their competition law enforcement efforts.  This interactive map provides a general overview of the quickly evolving competition law regimes in the region.

Overview of merger regimes

Merger control in South America is on the rise, with many new jurisdictions having adopted and started to enforce stricter pre-closing merger control laws over the past decade.  Brazil has firmly established itself as a significant global merger control jurisdiction.  In addition, following the establishment of a pre-closing merger control regime in 2017, Chile has been increasing its visibility in this space and so has Colombia.  With new or amended competition laws in Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay we expect that the number of active merger control regimes in South America will increase.  This interactive map provides a general overview of merger control activity in the region and highlights the most important recent developments in each jurisdiction.

Asia-Pacific 

Overview of antitrust regimes

The Asia-Pacific region is generally moving toward more structured competition law enforcement.  In particular, many jurisdictions have introduced or amended their laws to empower the national competition authorities and clarify their competition regimes.  This trend is particularly clear with the newly established authorities in the Philippines and in Malaysia, which are rapidly stepping up their enforcement activities.  Other jurisdictions (e.g., Singapore and Vietnam) have recently updated their laws with the view of strengthening antitrust enforcement.

Overview of merger regimes

New laws and important amendments in some jurisdictions (e.g., China and India) have already propelled new regulators onto the world stage.  Other authorities, such as Singapore and Taiwan, are building on their experience in reviewing increasingly complex deals while still others are rapidly introducing and strengthening merger control regimes (e.g., Thailand and Vietnam).

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