Philippines: Adopted PPC non-horizontal merger guidelines

On 18 May 2023, the Philippine Competition Commission issued guidelines on non-horizontal merger analysis. The guidelines seek to enhance the transparency of the analytical process conducted by the PCC during the review of mergers and acquisitions and provide support to the business community. The guidelines clarify several obligations, including assessing market definition and shares to determine competitive significance, evaluating the competitive effects of mergers concerning unilateral and coordinated effects, and considering potential efficiencies resulting from mergers outweighing anti-competitive effects. Furthermore, it also evaluates input and customer foreclosure, raising rival costs, and the potential for coordinated effects in the market.