The government hopes to introduce the fair competition law bill into the Legislative Council in the 2008-09 legislative session, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma said yesterday.

Speaking about the government's plan, Ma said the SAR would publish a consultation paper outlining the main scope of the legislation to consult the business sector again in the first quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, the business sector expressed their satisfaction about the city's business environment adding that there was no need for a competition law.

Speaking after attending a competition law seminar, Ma said the government would conduct another round of public consultation in plain language instead of a white bill.

"We will consult the public again," he said. "As I have mentioned, some small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have doubts about the competition and feared the introduction of a competition law would affect their operation and increase their costs."

Earlier, Ma delivered a keynote speech to the seminar, saying the government was still considering if the future regulator should have the power to determine whether or not an infringement had taken place and to impose sanctions where appropriate.

Also, the government would decide whether or not the competition law should regulate mergers, he added, as most overseas competition laws include merger controls.

Allaying fears of the SMEs, Ma said: "SMEs have very little to fear as they stand to gain from the competition law, which checks abusive or anti-competitive practices by bigger firms."

Lawmaker Jeffrey Lam representing The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in LegCo, said Hong Kong's business environment had always been very open and liberal.

"There is no need for a competition law in Hong Kong," said Lam, who is also a member of the Liberal Party. "If the government really wants a law, the Chamber hopes it is a very clear enactment that checks anti-competitive behaviours only.

"The SMEs worry that the competition law would not help them as far as litigation is concerned. In fact, they are more concerned with monopolistic situations in certain sectors by several big enterprises."

Mark Williams, associate professor of School of Accounting and Finance of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who organized the seminar, said Hong Kong would be the last developed economy in the world to have a general competition law.

He said the future regulator should have the power to investigate if anti-competitive behaviours had taken place, while mergers control is an integral part of all competition laws in the world.

Priscilla Lau, associate professor from the Department of Business Studies of the same university, stressedthe need of a competition law in Hong Kong.

Without a competition law, the local market, which is so small, will be monopolized. This would leave very little space for the SMEs and limit the job opportunities they could offer, she said.

(HK Edition 12/11/2007 page6)