approval

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 By Susan Ning,Hazel YIN,and Han WU 

On 13 August 2012, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) approved Wal-Mart Stores Inc(“Wal-Mart”)’s proposed acquisition of 33.6% share of Niu Hai Holdings (“Niu Hai”),which enables Wal-Mart to have a controllin stake in the online direct sales business of Yihaodian, the largest e-supermarket in China.1 The approval is not without conditions,though.It is the fifth conditional merger clearance decision (“Decision”)MOFCOM issued in 2012 and the first conditional clearance relating to the online retail sector.
 Review Process
 
 MOFCOM received notification of the transaction on 16 December 2011 and officially accepted it on 16 February 2012.
Continue Reading MOFCOM Approved Wal-Mart’s Acquisition of Controlling Stake in Yihaodian but Said NO to VIE Structure

By Xu Ping & Mark Schaub   King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment Practice

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has recently issued a number of notices delegating approval competency to lower governmental levels. This delegation of approval competency to local authorities will greatly accelerate the approval process for foreign invested projects. Two prominent areas in this general policy of devolution are delegation of approval authority over (i) foreign invested holding companies and (ii) foreign invested venture capital enterprises (“FIVCEs”) as well as foreign invested venture capital management enterprises (“FIVCE Management Firm”).Continue Reading MOFCOM Devolves Approval Competency for Foreign Invested Holding Companies and Venture Capital Enterprises

By Mark Schaub, Feng Xin, Duncan Hwang   King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment Practice

A. General Devolution to Lower Levels

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has continued their trend of further delegating approval competency to lower governmental levels. This delegation of approval competency to local authorities will greatly accelerate the approval process for foreign