The crackdown on cartels and other anti-competitive business practices has reached an all-time high, with countries without a long antitrust tradition such as Korea and Japan becoming some of the most vigilant enforcers, according to a report published today.
The survey, by the specialist journal Global Competition Review, says Japan's Fair Trade Commission received nearly 80 leniency applications from cartelists last year, far more than any other competition agency. All were prepared to admit anticompetitive behaviour in return for reduced penalties.
The Korean Fair Trade Commission, meanwhile, launched dozens of cartel and abuse of dominance cases, in industries ranging from oil to ice cream.
The survey also cites the recent overhaul of Spain's competition regime as evidence of its tougher stance.
"The world's younger and less-resourced competition authorities are catching up with the leading enforcers in both capability and commitment," it concludes, suggesting pressure from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank may be behind this trend.
The survey, based on several hundred responses from lawyers, academics, consumer groups and economists, finds that the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission remain the most highly rated, along with the UK's more specialised Competition Commission.
But many of the agencies notching up improved performances were in countries where effective antitrust enforcement is a more recent phenomenon, including Slovakia, Russia, the Czech Republic, Japan and Korea.
