By Susan Ning, Hazel Yin, Al Wu, Sarah Eder and Lingbo Wei King & Wood Mallesons’ Antitrust Group
On 4 December 2014, the Provisions of the Ministry of Commerce on Imposing Additional Restrictive Conditions on the Concentration of Business Operators (for Trial Implementation) (hereinafter the “Provisions of Restrictive Conditions”) was officially enacted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), based on its 2013 draft version (hereinafter the “2013 Draft Provisions”). Restrictive conditions in merger reviews are also referred to as “merger remedies”. Pursuant to Articles 28 and 29 of the Anti-monopoly Law (hereinafter “AML”), where a concentration of business operators will or may eliminate or restrict competition, MOFCOM may decide to attach restrictive conditions to its clearance decision in order to reduce the adverse impacts on competition. MOFCOM has given conditional clearance in 24 cases since AML came into effect. Given that the imposition of restrictive conditions on proposed transactions may impact heavily on the parties and the nature of the transaction, even altering the relevant market and development of the relevant industry, the publication of the Provisions of Restrictive Conditions will be of great significance not only to the merger review process, but also to the business decisions of the relevant companies.
The Provisions of Restrictive Conditions came into effect on 5 January 2015. At the same time, MOFCOM’s Interim Regulations on Implementing the Divestiture of Assets or Businesses in Concentrations of Business Operators dated 5 July 2010 (hereinafter “the Regulations on Divestiture”), were repealed. The Provisions of Restrictive Conditions will become an important reference point for the enforcement of restrictive conditions. The Provisions of Restrictive Conditions contain 7 chapters addressing restrictive covenants, including when such covenants will be imposed, the mechanisms for supervising their implementation, the consequences of failing to comply, the procedure for amending them and when the obligations will come to an end . Continue Reading Developments to the Merger Control Regime in China: MOFCOM’s Provisions on Imposing Additional Restrictive Conditions on Concentrations of Business Operators (for Trial Implementation)
2015年2月，国家发改委发布了又一起反垄断案件的行政处罚决定书。根据该决定书，某公司被认定存在以下滥用市场支配地位的违法行为，包括对过期专利收费、对反向许可不支付合理对价、以整机批发净售价作为专利许可费的基础、搭售非必要专利许可、销售芯片附带不合理条件。这些行为实际上是围绕着企业的专利授权定价做出的，处罚决定书对授权定价和相关法律条件的分析，不仅对反垄断领域产生影响，也对转让定价税收监管领域有重大的现实参考意义。 
毫无疑问，去年对中国境外直接投资而言，是一个意义重大的转折年。中国境外直投总量达到近1300亿美元，首次超过外国对华的直投总量。这也预示着中国正在由一个全球投资的主要受益者转变为重要推动者。这一趋势在非洲尤为显著：中国对非的直投总量在2014年到2020年期间有望翻4番，达到近1000亿美元。