Cartels 2025

SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC

Environmental Sustainability On 1 March 2024, the Commission issued a Guidance Note on Business Collaborations Pur - suing Environmental Sustainability Objectives ( “Environmental Sustainability Collaboration Guidance Note” ), which aims to clarify how the Commission will assess business collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives in the context of the prohibitions in the Competi - tion Act. Among other provisions, the Environmental Sus - tainability Collaboration Guidance Note sets out a streamlined notification process in relation to assessments of collaborations pursuing environ - mental sustainability objectives, for businesses that notify their agreements to the Commission. On 3 January 2025, the Commission issued positive guidance in the first case under the streamlined process, in relation to the joint establishment and operation of Beverage Con - tainer Return Scheme Ltd (BCRS Ltd.), by Coca- Cola Singapore Beverages Pte. Ltd., F&N Foods Pte Ltd and Pokka Pte. Ltd. BCRS Ltd. is a not- for-profit company licensed by the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA) to design and operate the Beverage Container Return Scheme ( “BCR Scheme” ) in Singapore, targeted to be launched on 1 April 2026. Pursuant to the BCR Scheme, pre-packaged beverages in plas - tic and metal containers will have a refundable deposit, which will be fully refunded when empty beverage containers are returned at designated return points. The parties involved had applied to the Com - mission for guidance on whether the joint estab - lishment and operation of BCRS Ltd. is likely to violate the prohibitions against cartel activities and abuse of dominance under the Competition Act. The Commission expects that this case will

sion is also exploring how AI can be used to identify potential infringements of competition law, through their in-house “Bid-Rigging Detec- tion Tool” which detects potential bid-rigging activity from similarities in tender documents. AI tools developed by other government agen - cies will also be adopted in the Commission’s day-to-day operations, such as AI writing tool “SmartCompose” , which generates accurate responses to email enquiries and verifies docu - ments submitted to the Commission. The use of AI tools has and will continue to reduce reliance on manpower resources previously relied on for manual processing. Beyond adopting AI tools in-house, the Commis - sion has also worked closely with other public agencies to develop extensions to government- developed AI systems such as the “AI Verify” toolkit launched in 2022. This toolkit allows companies to conduct standardised testing and, among other uses, identify potential competition concerns that may arise from the deployment of their AI systems. Developing industry standards The Commission has advocated for the respon - sible use of AI tools and also engaged industry stakeholders in the digital markets to update Singapore’s national standards for electronic commerce transactions, such as the Techni - cal Reference 76: Guidelines for E-Commerce Transactions which set out best practices for digital platforms and online businesses and help them manage competition and consumer protection risks. The guidelines integrate core principles regarding the responsible use of AI set out in the Model AI Governance Framework, which the Commission considers applicable to undertakings managing competition law risks arising from the use of AI systems.

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