2023 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Re-evaluating Minority Shareholding in Competition Law Against the Background of Horizontal Shareholding by Investors: Lessons Drawn From Fintech and E-Commerce Startups in Asia
| Project/Area Number |
21H00666
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
VAN・UYTSEL S 九州大学, 法学研究院, 教授 (30432842)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
植村 吉輝 阪南大学, 経済学部, 教授 (90388603)
M・D FENWICK 九州大学, 法学研究院, 教授 (90315036)
McGinty Sean 名古屋大学, 法学研究科, 准教授 (40706818)
平山 賢太郎 筑波大学, ビジネスサイエンス系, 准教授 (20376396)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Keywords | horizontal shareholding / hub-and-spoke / cartel facilitator / Indonesia / India / Japan / corporate governance |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This stage of the research has focused on two issues. The first issue is the extent to which Asian competition laws are able to deal with hub-and-spoke cartels and cartel facilitators. One strand in the literature on horizontal shareholding, be it the minority one, is that cartelization is facilitated by direct communication of shareholders with the directors of competing firms. The research has further held that, if this is true, the position of the shareholders should be classified as third party cartel facilitator and not as a hub. This distinction is important, because in some jurisdictions, like Japan, the competition law applies to a hub but not to a cartel facilitator. In other jurisdictions, like Indonesia, the competition law applies to neither of them. Some other jurisdictions, like India and China, amended their competition law to apply to a hub and a cartel facilitator. However, in case of China, there are limitations attached to the scope of the amendment. The second issue is questioning the novelty of the debate on horizontal shareholding. By looking into the literature on Japanese corporate governance, it can be shown that the horizontal shareholding debate comes up with a story similar to the one that was written on Japanese corporate governance in the post-war period. It has further been shown in the research that Japan had competition tools to deal with the potential negative effects but that these tools were gradually abolished.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The progress on the research regarding hub-and-spoke cartels and cartel facilitators in Asia is going as planned. Most of the relevant cases and legislations have been mapped out. However, due to the writing of an article on horizontal shareholding or common ownership on Japan, the book on hub-and-spoke and cartel facilitators has not yet been finalized.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The research will progress along three different lines. First, the research team will finalize the research on hub-and-spoke and third-party cartel facilitators. This research will focus on Indonesia and India, but also focus on Japan and China. Second, the research will finalize research on the references of the Indian enforcement authority to hozirontal shareholding or common ownershiop. Third, the research will start elaborating how minority shareholding is regulated in the competition law of key Asian jurisdictions. Also, it will be research on how different horizontal shareholding is present in Asia.
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