On 20 May 2022, our team held an offline breakfast meeting at InterContinental Almaty with the representatives of business.

The firm's lawyers shared their experience in a free dialogue format, advice and recommendations to clients and colleagues, and discussed certain disputable issues of the antitrust and competition legislation of the EAEU and Kazakhstan.

During the opening speech, AEQUITAS Managing Partner Olga Chentsova highly evaluated the level of cooperation and existing mutual relations of the firm with all its clients, despite the difficulties and restrictions of the past years.  During this period, joint efforts of the firm's lawyers and clients' legal departments allowed to implement important and, as one can say, anchor projects for the country in different spheres, whether in the field of PPP, construction, finances, pharmaceuticals, or other industries.

AEQUITAS Partner and Head of the firm's Antitrust Practice Nurlan Sholanov briefly spoke on the key development milestones of the competition legislation of Kazakhstan and the EAEU and outlined the new challenges in competition regulation with reference to global trends.  While speaking, AEQUITAS Associate Zhandaulet Sholanov spoke about anti-competitive agreements and relevant risks they bear for the participants.

The firm's Senior Associate Larissa Yemelyanova proposed the instruments allowing to evaluate the occupied market share and spoke in detail concerning relevant restrictions for each type of the market structure.  The invited expert, Senior Research Officer of RANEPA and a member of the Antitrust Experts Association Vadim Novikov shared information on the reasons of different sales terms for different market entities.

AEQUITAS Partner and Head of the firm's M&A practice Yelena Manayenko shared the standards and nuances of antitrust compliance, which will help minimizing the violations of legislation.  In turn, the firm's Associate Farukh Iminov considered the procedural details of appealing against the inspection initiated by the antitrust authority and provided recommendations on how to act in critical situations.

This business breakfast resumes a series of meetings with AEQUITAS lawyers allowing to discuss the issues of interest for international and local companies.  Please send you suggested topics marked "Business breakfast" to aequitas@aequitas.kz.

You can download the speakers' presentations here and here.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the business breakfast!  See you next time!