India: Finance minister concerned over cross-market watchdogs

The emergence of federal regulators that oversee multiple industries has raised concerns for India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley expressed those concerns Monday, noting that such regulators raise the risk for interfering with each other’s jurisdictions. Reports say the official pointed specifically to authorities overseeing mergers and acquisitions as a high-risk area.

According to Jaitley, while there is a need for regulators to be active and responsive in ensuring fair market play, the government must be cautious about multi-sectoral regulators that oversee mergers and acquisitions.

To exemplify a potential conflict, Jaitley pointed to a hypothetical merger in the telecoms market – a situation that could raise conflict between the Competition Commission of India and the nation’s telco watchdog, both of which would have interest in the transaction.

The remarks were made in his inaugural address at the International Competition Network merger workshop, which was organized by the CCI.

Full content: Zee Biz

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