This is not a drill: The Asia-Pacific Tipline for 15 November 2019

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” – where there are the signs of something, that something likely exists. Competition enforcers believe that applies to their approach: that if it appears that a merger will harm competition, then it likely will. And especially in already-consolidated sectors, antitrust watchdogs see themselves as the fire doors preventing the harm from spreading. We have coverage this week of a conditionally cleared deal in the consolidating Korean telecommunications market; preliminary concerns about a deal in Australia; an Australian enforcer’s comments on killer acquisitions; and the publication of our survey of Japan's competition bar.