On 1–3 July 2026, the ADB-OECD-KPC Workshop on Challenges in Cartel Investigations was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, gathering competition enforcers and experts from across Asia and the Pacific. ADB co-hosted the workshop with the OECD-Korea Policy Centre (KPC) Competition Programme and Mongolia’s Anti-Monopoly Agency (AMA).  

Over three days, sessions explored how competition authorities can detect, investigate, and prove secret cartel agreements and covered important themes including:  

• Benefits of competition and importance of cartel enforcement  
• Mongolia’s legal framework for cartel enforcement and unfair trade practices 
• Case building through investigation and evidence collection 
• Leniency programs  
• Designing effective systems for detecting bid rigging 

Various competition authorities including—Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC), Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS), Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU), the Competition Commission of Hong Kong (HKCC), and the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC)—shared their respective experiences on the matter. 

ADB led a session on Policy Solutions to Enhance Competitive Markets, which featured Yesim Elhan-Kayalar, Advisor, Office of the Chief Economist; Martino Pelli, Senior Country Economist, East Asia Department; and Sonor Luvsandorj, Financial Sector Specialist, Finance Sector Office as speakers. The session explored the broader policy ecosystem needed to strengthen competitive markets, complementing the workshop’s central theme on enforcement. ADB’s participation reflects its continued support for fair and competitive markets in Mongolia and across the region.

For more program details, view here.