Common-law spouses of heads of conglomerates could soon be legally considered family where regulations are concerned. 

The Fair Trade Commission is set to announce changes on Thursday in line with a revised enforcement decree of the Fair Trade Act, adjusting the scope of familial designations for chiefs of conglomerates.

According to the amendment, a common-law spouse will be included as a legal relation if there is a biological child between the partners.

The adjustment means that common law spouses or children of conglomerate leaders will be subject to stricter regulations, such as rules prohibiting nepotism.

Meanwhile, the antitrust watchdog said that it will contract the scope of "relatives" for chiefs of conglomerates from second cousins to first cousins as it works to comply with the government's drive to ease corporate regulations.

The change would likely halve the number of individuals who fall under such classification to around 45-hundred.