ICC GRANTS AWARDS TO MINISTRIES AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS COMMITTED TO PROMOTING BUSINESS COMPETITION AND PARTNERSHIP.

Indonesia Competition Commission (ICC) granted ICC Award to several Ministers of the Developed Indonesia Cabinets and Regional Heads to appreciate the commitments and initiatives of the Governments in implementing the principles of competition and partnership in the policies they made. The award which held on December 15, 2020 at the Westin Hotel, Jakarta, was presented as part of the Dissemination and Presentation of Business Competition Policy Adaptation and Ideal Partnership System in Government Policies.

ICC Award constitutes a form of appreciation for the supports and efforts of the governments in boosting business competition values, especially through the best contribution to the two main roles of ICC, namely as the supervisor of business competition and the overseer of partnership implementation. In his remarks, Chairman of ICC, Kurnia Toha, underscored that economic policy the formulation of which does not take the principles of fair business competition into account, can result in a lack of business competition in the said sector. Kurnia hopes that this award is capable of enhancing coordination efforts among institutions in making and implementing competition policies that benefit consumers and the public the most, as well as make grow and develop micro, small and medium enterprises that are highly competitive and capable of competing in the global market. It is further explained that the recipients of ICC Award are those who give priority to policies that prioritize fair competition and ideal partnership as well as provide positive results for the general public and micro, small and medium business actors.

In the meantime, the Coordinating Minister for Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, in his remarks explained that in order to restore the national economy, major breakthroughs are needed in conducting economic transformation and boosting structural reform in Indonesia, one of which is through the Job Creation Law. The law also includes several changes in support of the enforcement of the anti-monopoly law, particularly to promote the improvement of the quality of substantiation in court of law. Airlangga also expressed his appreciation for the administration of ICC Award, as a form of appreciation for Ministries/Institutions and Provincial Governments that have been consistent in boosting business competition policies, and forming ideal partnership system within the scope of their respective authorities.

The following is the complete list of recipients of ICC Award presented by the Chairman of ICC:

Note: Utama = Large

       Madya = Medium

       Pratama = Small

Aside from granting Award, the activity was continued with the key presentation by the Commissioner of ICC, Chandra Setiawan, who made a presentation on the substance of ICC and Competition Policy in the Economic Recovery. Chandra in his presentation asserted that the level of the national competition based on the Business Competition Index as developed by ICC, has decreased on the whole from 4.72 (the 1-7 scale) in 2019 to 4.65 in 2020. One of the causes of such decrease is the COVID-19 pandemic which significantly affects environmental factors, especially in the supply and demand dimension. Meanwhile, the Business Competition Index is targeted to be 5.0 in the 2024 Development Targets as set by the Government.

In responding to the above, Chandra explained that there are 3 (three) keys to the economic recovery through business competition, namely by way of utilizing the competition checklist in policy making; improving business actor compliance with competition law in order to avoid business risks that harm companies; and establishing intensive coordination among the Central Government, Regional Governments, and ICC so that Micro, Small, and Medium business actors are not harmed by the actions of large or medium companies that hamper the growth of MSMEs or create anti-competitive actions that broadly affect the public.