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By: Susan Ning and Ding Liang

On 22 December 2010, the Minister of Commerce Chen Deming stated in his annual working report at the 2010 National Commerce Work Conference that the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) intends to combine the following processes: (a) administration of foreign investment; (b) anti-monopoly merger control review; and (c) national security review from next year. 
According to Minister Chen’s report, the main objective in combining the above mentioned processes is to "protect the security of domestic industries".

It is not clear how the processes in (a) to (c) as mentioned above will be combined or integrated.  This article provides a brief overview of how the processes set out above are currently being conducted.Continue Reading Foreign Investment Approval + Antitrust Merger Control Review + National Security Review – a Combined More Streamlined Process?

Interview with Mark Schaub, a partner with King & Wood’s Corporate Group.

Gasgoo.com: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A in China) is not simply win-win for owners and companies. It’s also about win-win or win-lose for local governments. For example, small manufacturers provide jobs, taxes and gifts to local officials. If a larger manufacturer acquires a small one, jobs will move along with it. This is the main reason the industry is so spread out. No one wants to let go of jobs in their district. So what’s your opinion on dealing with the local government in an M&A case?Continue Reading Fraud Investigation and Practical Solutions in the Acquisition Process

By: Susan Ning and Shan Lining

On 20 December 2010, the Beijing Second Intermediary People’s Court (the Court) issued a first instance ruling on an Anti-Unfair Competition Law dispute between Baidu (the largest Chinese search engine provider) and 360 (a large security software provider).  The Court ruled in favor of Baidu, ordering 360 to pay damages amounting to RMB385,000.

At the time of writing, we were unable to obtain a copy of the first instance judgment – thus, this article sets out the facts of the case, based on public or press reports:1Continue Reading The Baidu/360 Anti-Unfair Competition Dispute – First Instance Ruling

By: Susan Ning, Zheng Ziqing and Angie Ng

On 18 December 2010, Mr Shang Ming (Chief of the Antimonopoly Bureau, of the Ministry of Commerce or MOFCOM) delivered a speech at an academic conference entitled "International Symposium on Enforcement of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law in the New Economy" held at Beijing’s People’s University.

During Mr Shang’s speech, he revealed the following facts and figures about MOFCOM’s merger control regime:Continue Reading 2010 Merger Control Stocktake – China

By: Stephen Nelson and King & Wood’s Tax Group

Recently, China clarifies that individuals shall be liable for individual income tax (‘IIT’) on income derived from assignment of trade-restricted shares. According to the Supplementary Notice on Individual Income Tax Issues regarding Transfer of Trade-Restricted Shares (Caishui [2010] No. 70) (“Circular 70”), “trade-restricted shares” refers to shares which have been locked up during initial public offerings and notably, the following shares would be classified as trade-restricted shares:Continue Reading Individual Income Tax Payable on Assignment of Trade-Restricted Shares

By: Susan Ning, Shan Lining and Angie Ng

On 17 November 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) organized a "price monopoly" workshop in Chengdu to take stock of: (a) developments in relation to price related breaches of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML); and (b) developments in relation to provincial level price authorities and their enforcement of the AML (see our article entitled "Provincial Price Authorities and the AML" dated 20 November 2010.[1]Continue Reading Price Related Breaches of the AML and the Price Law – How Many Public Cases Have There Been?

By: Yi Zhang,  King & Wood’s  Securities & Capital Markets Group 

Introduction

Legislative research on industrial investment funds started in early 2000. Since the official administrative regulations regarding such funds have not yet been publicly released, the government has been concurrently implementing pilot projects and draft administrative regulations on the subject.

During the pilot period, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) drafted the Administrative Regulations on Industrial Investment Funds, later changing the name to the Administrative Regulations on Private Equity Funds in order to make them applicable to the entire private equity fund industry.

Continue Reading Establishing renminbi private equity funds

By:  Kenneth Y. Choy of King & Wood’s Hong Kong office and Antitrust & Competition Group

Tai Po is a traditional village located in the northeastern part of the New Territories in Hong Kong. Its historical relics, old temples, quaint fishing village and natural scenery make it a popular destination for both tourists and local residents alike.

The Hong Kong government began building up Tai Po in the late 1970’s, transforming it from a sleepy fishing community into a bustling new town of 300,000. In the last decade, the Government decided to tear down the old to make way for new facilities in the area. As part of the development, the old Tai Po Temporary Market which had housed many small cooked food stalls was replaced with a brand new complex. Stallholders who operated the cooked food stalls were vacated by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the governmental agency that manages cooked food markets and relocate to the new facility.Continue Reading Legal for now: Collusion among bidders at Hong Kong auctions

By: King & Wood’s Insurance Group

This August, the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Committee disclosed its provisional measures on equity investments made by Insurance Funds (“Equity Investment Measures”). With the introduction of the new PRC Insurance law in October 2009, domestic insurance companies have begun making equity investments into private companies. The new Equity Investment Measures lay out a detailed framework outlining the ways in which insurance companies may participate in direct and indirect equity investment activities, including investments in private joint-stock companies and LLCs.Continue Reading Big Change in a Big Market – New PRC Insurance Regulation Potentially Hampers Investment Options

By: Susan Ning, Shan Lining, Liu Jia and Angie Ng

On 10 December 2010, the State Council published and enacted a set of revised penalty regulations[1] (vis-à-vis the Price Law 1997). 

Broadly, the penalties set out in these revised penalty regulations are more severe than the previous version. 

Of note is the fact that there is a new Article 5 which outlines more severe and specific remedies in relation to breaches amounting to price-fixing. In addition, the new Article 19 introduces criminal sanctions for breaches of the Price Law 1997 which severely disrupt the market order in China.Continue Reading If You Fix Prices, Beware of the Price Law and the Anti Monopoly Law