Dear Khun Mark,
The Joint Venture Agreement between STT and MOL to set up BBT should be regarded as a merger and acquisition under the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2542.
The Act has a provision (section 26) relating to Anti-competitive Mergers and Acquisitions. Basically, the Act prohibits any business operator from effecting a merger that may result in a monopoly or unfair competition, without the pre-merger permission from the Trade Competition Commission. Share acquisitions, asset acquisitions, and amalgamations all fall within the ambit of the Act. The Commission can prescribe conditions for the mergers that are subject to the pre-merger permission requirement, with such conditions stipulating combined market share, sales turnover, and amount of capital/shares or assets. However, up to now, the Commission has not prescribed any conditions of this kind. This means that the Act has not applied to a merger and acquisition at this moment. Thus, STT and MOL are not required to seek permission from the Commission before the establishment of BBT.
In addition, Clause 9 of the Joint Venture Agreement can prove that there is no unfair competition after the merger.
Should you have other questions, please let us know.
Best regards,
Sayan