Economic Concentration - Jordanian Competition Law

On August 2002, Jordan has adopted the first Competition Law,

which was issued as a provisional law under the number 49/2002 and

replaced by the current law number 33 for the year 2004. The

Competition Law identified the relevant competition bodies in

Jordan and tackled several issues related to competition. The main

segments of the law cover anticompetitive collusions, abuse of

dominant position, regulating mergers and acquisitions, and

ensuring fairness of economic transactions.

The Competition Directorate at the Ministry of Industry &

Trade was established in 2002 and entrusted with certain powers to

execute and enforce the competition in. In addition to its role in

the general competition plans and legislations, the Competition

Directorate plays major role in promoting, protecting and

encouraging free competition as well as issuing opinions on matters

related to its activities. It is also empowered to gather

information to uncover practices that restrict and distort

competition and to conduct investigations into such practices as

well as receiving and following up applications related to economic

concentration, and prepare reports, recommendations and draft

decisions in respect of such applications.

Economic Concentration is defined in the Competition Law as

(Any activity resulting in the full or partial transfer of

ownership of or interest in property or rights or shares or

obligations of an Enterprise to another, and which may enable an

Enterprise or a group of Enterprises to control, directly or

indirectly, another Enterprise or group of Enterprises is

considered an economic concentration operation).

The economic concentration transaction would require the

approval of the Minister of Industry & Trade

("Minister") if it has impact on the level of competition

in the market that exceeds 40% or more of the total local market

transaction.

The Competition Law identified the filing requirements and

procedures to obtain the approval of the Minister on the economic

concentration transaction. The application for approving the

economic concentration transaction ("Application") must

be made by the relevant enterprises on the form adopted by the

Ministry of Industry & Trade ("Ministry") within 30

days of the execution of an economic concentration transaction

agreement or the execution of a preliminary economic concentration

transaction agreement.

The Application must be accompanied with the following:

Copy of the articles and memorandum of...