Year 2016 - EVOLUTION OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY UNDER THE COMPETITION ORDINANCE 公平競爭法下保險業新進化

專題探討 FEATURE The Competition Ordinance began to be fully implemented on 14 December 2015, with the objective of prohibiting conduct that prevents, restricts or distorts competition, and to prohibit mergers that substantially lessen competition in Hong Kong. On the economic and social values of this Ordinance, I cannot agree more with the saying of the Chairperson of the Competition Commission, Ms Anna WU Hung-yuk: ‘Competition is a much cherished value in Hong Kong. Competition drives economic vibrancy, stimulates innovation, creates work opportunities and brings consumer benefits. It is one of the cornerstones of our open economy. Competition has deep roots in Hong Kong, but we should not assume that it always comes naturally. In some circumstances competition needs to be safeguarded. The introduction of the Competition Ordinance to Hong Kong is an important step in this regard to protect our shared value of competition and to nourish it.’ As we all know, the Commission has issued a few publications including a toolkit entitled ‘How to comply with the Competition Ordinance - Practical Compliance Tools for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’, to help businesses review their business practices and develop a compliance strategy that best suits their needs. It has also issued six Guidelines jointly with the Communications Authority, including Guideline on the First Conduct Rule and Guideline on the Second Conduct Rule, in plain language with hypothetical examples involving various trades including insurance. Apart from literature, the Commission also provides other forms of information (say, video) and conducts activities like seminars and workshops, to help businesses comply with the Ordinance as best as it can. I believe that undertakings conducting insurance business in Hong Kong, including insurance intermediaries, are beginning, if not earlier, to examine their business practices with a view to ensuring that they are in compliance with the Ordinance and the Guidelines issued under the Ordinance. 黃倩瑛博士 高峰進修學院院長 職業訓練局 Dr Lillian Wong Principal, Institute of Professional Education and Knowledge Vocational Training Council 32 2015 年刊與 2016 展望 YEARBOOK 2015 & PROSPECT 2016