By Dina Yin and Vera Malesevic King & Wood Mallesons’ Mergers & Acquisitions Group MOFCOM Approval for Sino-Foreign Cooperative Petroleum Contracts in China No Longer Required Last week on May 15, 2013, China’s State Council published a decision to further eliminate certain administrative examination and approval items《国务院关于取消和下放一批行政审批项目等事项的决定》(国发(2013)19号) (the “Decision”). According to the Decision, certain items… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: MOFCOM
Path towards A More Streamlined Merger Control System – MOFCOM Publishes Draft Rules on Merger Remedies
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Pulcheria Chung, Kailun Ji and Hazel Yin To increase clarity and transparency on the merger remedy regime under the Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML“), China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM“) published the draft Rules Regarding Imposition of Restrictive Conditions on Concentrations of Undertakings (the “Draft Rules“) on 27 March 2013 for public comments. Under the… Continue Reading
The Anti-Monopoly Law of China: What We Have Seen in 2012?
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Hazel Yin and Yunlong Zhang The year 2012 marks the fifth year of the enactment and implementation of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”). Over the past year, we have witnessed substantial progress of the merger control regime and antitrust administrative investigations, in particular in the area of cartel investigations. With the promulgation of… Continue Reading
Go Forth and Build Brands in China
Posted in Corporate, IP, TrademarkBy Mark Schaub, Sun Liang, Wang Ni and Melanie Stoeckert King and Wood Mallesons’ Corporate Group On 17 December 2012 the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) promulgated the Guiding Opinions on Promoting Brand Consumption in China (the “Opinions”). The Opinions are not particularly interesting for what they do but for what they signal as to… Continue Reading
MOFCOM cleared Joint Venture between ARM, Giesecke & Devrient and Gemalto with Conditions
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Ji Kailun and Hazel Yin On December 6th, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM“) cleared the proposed establishment of a joint venture (“JV“) by ARM Holdings plc (“ARM“), a UK semiconductor intellectual property (“IP“) supplier, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH (“G&D“) and Gemalto NV (“Gemalto“), both providers of security solutions, with behavioral conditions. … Continue Reading
Heads of the Three Antitrust Enforcement Agencies Attended the First China Competition Policy Forum
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Kate Peng and Yunlong Zhang On December 4th and 5th, 2012, the first China Competition Policy Forum (the “Forum“) was held in China University of Political Science and Law. The Forum was sponsored by the expert advisory group of the Anti-monopoly Commission of the State Council. The Directors-General of the… Continue Reading
China’s Ministry of Commerce Released List of Unconditionally Approved Notifications of Concentrations
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning and Hazel Yin On November 16, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM“) released the latest data of unconditionally approved notifications of concentrations, including the total number and the list of all transactions with the name of each transaction and the undertakings concerned. According to an earlier piece of press release, MOFCOM will… Continue Reading
China’s Anti-Monopoly Law: Retrospect and Prospect on the Fourth Anniversary
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning and Hazel Yin August 1, 2012 marks the fourth anniversary of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”). 1 With only 57 articles, the AML introduces a series of new regimes governing not only transactions but also day-to-day operations of domestic and foreign companies. This article presents an overview of how the AML has been implemented… Continue Reading
中国反垄断法实施四周年回顾与展望
Posted in Antitrust & Competition作者：宁宣凤 尹冉冉 金杜律师事务所反垄断组 至2012年8月1日，《中华人民共和国反垄断法》（以下简称《反垄断法》）实施已满四年。1虽然仅有57条，但《反垄断法》确立了一系列崭新的制度，其适用对象不仅包括国内公司，也包括境外企业，适用范围不仅涵盖公司的日常运营，也包括公司间的交易行为。本文简要回顾《反垄断法》四年的实施情况，并对其实施趋势予以展望。 一、合并控制 经营者集中在达到一定营业额标准后，需提交商务部进行经营者集中的反垄断审查。自2008年8月1 日以来，商务部累计审查逾450起交易，其中95%以上的交易获得无条件批准。截至2012年8月1日，商务部已附条件批准14起交易，禁止1起（可口可乐收购汇源）。
NDRC Reply on RMB Fund with FIE GP
Posted in CorporateBy Zhang Yi, Alan Du and Hu Xia King & Wood Mallesons’ Securities Group Shanghai Office In the April, 2012, it was reported by various media sources that the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) had issued certain policies requiring that an RMB fund (the “FIE GP Fund”) with a foreign invested enterprise (FIE) acting as… Continue Reading
发改委关于外商投资企业作为普通合伙人的人民币基金的答复
Posted in Corporate作者：张毅 杜宏晖 胡夏 金杜律师事务所证券组上海办公室 根据2012年4月多家媒体的报道，国家发展和改革委员会（“发改委”）出台了相关政策，将人民币基金中，普通合伙人（GP）是外商投资企业（“FIE GP”），有限合伙人（LP）是境内投资者（不含在中国境内设立的外商投资企业）的人民币基金（“FIE GP 基金”）认定为外国投资者，这就意味着FIE GP基金进行项目投资时，应完成外商投资审批程序，从外界看来，应该是指取得商务部或地方商务部门（“商务部门”）的审批。 鉴于国际私募股权投资（PE）机构在设计其境内人民币基金架构时通常是采用FIE GP基金的形式，上述消息引起了极大的关注。如果外资PE机构的人民币基金在进行项目投资时都被认定为是境外基金，将来再以FIE GP基金的形式募集新的人民币基金的可能性将大大降低。通过解读发改委对发布的相关文件和其他监管部门披露的信息，笔者认为，对市场上对于上述消息的影响存在一定的误解。
MOFCOM Approves UTC’s Acquisition of Goodrich with Divestiture Requirement
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning and Hazel Yin On June 15, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) approved the acquisition of Goodrich Corporation (“Goodrich”) by United Technologies Corporation (“UTC”) subject to the divestment of the electronic systems business of Goodrich. Both companies are headquartered in the United States and active in the production and sale of aviation… Continue Reading
MOFCOM Cleared Google/Motorola Deal with Conduct Remedies
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning and Hazel Yin On May 19, 2012, MOFCOM cleared, with conditions, Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility ("Motorola"), a USD 12.5 billion deal and the largest ever in Google’s M&A history. The deal was announced in August 15, 2011 and obtained unconditional approval from the United States’ Department of Justice and the European… Continue Reading
Launch of Youku Tudou Inc.
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Zheng Ziqing and Wu Han On March 12, two Chinese Internet video giants Youku and Tudou announced that the two companies have signed a final agreement on March 11 to combine their services in a 100% stock-for-stock transaction to create a new service provider, Youku Tudou Inc, allowing Tudou to exit the… Continue Reading
Western Digital/Hitachi Received Conditional Nod from MOFCOM
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Ji Kailun and Hazel Yin On March 2nd, 2012, the acquisition by Western Digital ("WD") of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies ("Hitachi") finally received conditional nod from the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM"), three month after MOFCOM conditionally cleared the Seagate/Samsung deal1 . Review Timeline According to MOFCOM’s announcement 2, this review process is… Continue Reading
Overview of Doing Business in China
Posted in Foreign Investment, Intellectual PropertyBy Zeng Xianwu King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Group Since the reform and opening-up policy was introduced in 1978, especially in the past ten (10) years, the People’s Republic of China (the "PRC" or "China") has undergone significant changes. China is a growth engine for the worldwide economy, fueling global expansion via higher… Continue Reading
CSRC’s Guidance on Merger Control of Listed Chinese Companies
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Hazel Yin China Securities Regulation Commission ("CSRC") is the authority in charge of supervising Chinese listed companies. In August 2010 and November 2011, CSRC published on its website two FAQs addressing application of the merger control regime under the Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML") to listed companies.
MOFCOM Issued the Second Conditional Clearance on Joint Venture
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Hazel Yin On February 9, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") published its first conditional clearance decision in 2012, approving the proposed joint venture ("JV") established by Henkel Hong Kong Holdings Co., Ltd. ("Henkel HK") and Tiande Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. ("Tiande") ("Transaction"). This is the second conditional clearance… Continue Reading
US-China Trade War Continues: No Countervailing Duty to be Applied to Goods from China, a Non-Market Economy Country
Posted in Dispute ResolutionBy Liu Cheng and Linda Davinson King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Group A significant recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit temporarily concludes the U.S.-China tire wars in the case of GPX International Tire Corporation and Hebei Starbright Tire Co., Ltd et al v. United States et al. The U.S…. Continue Reading
商务部将加大未依法申报经营者集中查处力度
Posted in Antitrust & Competition作者 宁宣凤、吉凯伦、尹冉冉 2011年12月30日，商务部发布了《未依法申报经营者集中调查处理暂行办法》（“暂行办法”），将于2012年2月1日正式实施。该暂行办法就达到申报标准但未依法申报的经营者集中，规定了调查处理程序。 根据暂行办法，任何单位和个人均有权向商务部举报涉嫌应报未报的经营者集中，商务部也可能通过其他途径获得相关信息。如果有初步事实和证据表明存在未依法申报嫌疑，商务部就应当立案，并书面通知被调查的经营者。
MOFCOM Getting Tough on Failure to Notify a Concentration
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Ji Kailun and Hazel Yin On 30 December 2011, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") promulgated the Interim Measures on Investigation and Punishment of Failure to Duly Notify Concentrations of Undertakings (《未依法申报经营者集中调查处理暂行办法》, "Interim Measures"), effective from February 1, 2012.1 The Interim Measures set down the procedures for MOFCOM to investigate and penalize companies… Continue Reading
AMB Director Shang Ming Speaks on Merger Enforcement in 2011
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Liwei Wang and Hazel Yin On 27 December 2011, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") made a press release on its major merger enforcement work in 2011.1 Mr. Shang Ming, Director General of MOFCOM’s Anti-monopoly Bureau and Chairman of the General Office of the State Council’s Anti-monopoly Commission, gave a briefing at the… Continue Reading
With Conditions, MOFCOM Clears Seagate/Samsung Deal
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Ji Kailun and Yin Ranran On December 12th, 2011, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") conditionally approved the acquisition of the hard disk drive ("HDD") business of the Korean Samsung Electronics ("Samsung") by the US Seagate Technology ("Seagate")1. This is the 4th conditional approval of this year and the 10th conditional approval by… Continue Reading
MOFCOM Passed Provisional Rule on Failure to Notify on Concentration
Posted in Antitrust & CompetitionBy Susan Ning, Sun Yiming and Liu Jia On December 7, the Provisional Measures on Investigating and Penalizing Violation of Notification Obligations for Concentrations between Business Operators (Provisional Measures) were reviewed and discussed at the No. 57th Ministerial Affairs Meeting of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and were passed in principle.1 It was discussed at… Continue Reading