This project was managed by the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment (CUTS-CITEE), and funded by the Department For International Development (DFID), UK. The objective of the project was to examine the competition regimes of select developing countries in South Asia and Africa that are at similar levels of development. The countries selected for this purpose were India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.

Objectives

The project had two components: research and advocacy. The research component included an evaluation of the country’s competition regime and a study of cross-border competition concerns, as well as the awareness, understanding and ability of the competition authorities to deal with these issues. The advocacy component of the project included raising awareness among the various groups of stakeholders through meetings and publications. In this regard a National Reference Group, involving various stakeholders, was formed in all the project countries.

The general outputs of this project, were country research reports, seminars, and an advocacy document designed to: disseminate information on lessons learnt; highlight how to create a better competition culture; identify and catalogue technical assistance requirements and possible resources; and foster cooperation among the competition agencies of different countries.

The project outputs for Sri Lanka were a report on the institutional and legal structures for competition policy in Sri Lanka; the study of competition policy cases in Sri Lanka such as the Glaxo-Smithkline pharmaceutical merger and anti-competitive practices in the cement and shipping sectors; policy briefs on the new competition legislation; and recommendations for the effective functioning of Sri Lanka’s competition authority