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By  Zeng Xianwu Bai Lihui King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Group

To achieve the initial public offering (“IPO“), there are two options for Chinese companies, onshore listing (also known as A-share listing) and offshore listing (also known as red-chip listing).  Since the conditions and qualifications for A-share listing are usually a little higher and the procedure is more time-consuming than for the offshore listing, Chinese companies which cannot meet the A-share listing’s requirements or which need to complete IPO rapidly, usually would prefer the red-chip listing.  For the red-chip listing, there are two commonly-used structures for Chinese companies: the straight-forward offshore listing structure and the VIE structure.  In addition, for the purpose of attracting foreign investors and for circumventing restrictions on foreign direct investment, during the Pre-IPO restructuring, the VIE structure is also widely used by Chinese companies and foreign companies alike.

In 2011, after a series of public events, the variable interest entity (“VIE“) structure re-attracted a lot of attention and concerns from the PRC authorities, entrepreneurs, investors and other market participants.  This essay will describe the circumstances in which the VIE structure was created, how it has been used and the changes in the regulatory environment which might affect the feasibility of utilizing the VIE structure.Continue Reading Variable Interest Entity Structure in China

By King & Wood’s Trademark Group

In March, the leading domestic industrial recorder enterprise Hangzhou Pangu Automation Systems Co., Ltd. ("Pangu Ltd.", 杭州盘古自动化系统有限公司) found that searching on www.baidu.com ("Baidu", 百度公司) for "Pangu recorders (in Chinese)" etc. returned results heading "Pangu recorder professional manufacturer Hangzhou Mengkong instruments www.mkong.com.cn (in Chinese)", and clicking the link leads to the website of Hangzhou Mengkong Instrument Technology Co., Ltd. ("Mengkong", 杭州盟控仪表技术有限公司).Continue Reading First Instance Court Finds that Internet Keywords Constitute Infringement by Using Unauthorized Trademark

作者：金杜律师事务所商标组

今年3月，国内工业记录仪龙头企业杭州盘古自动化系统有限公司，发现在百度网站www.baidu.com搜索“盘古记录仪”等时，返回的搜索结果的第一条的标题为“盘古记录仪专业生产厂家，杭州盟控仪表www.mkong.com.cn”，点击后即进入杭州盟控仪表技术有限公司)的企业网站。

盘古公司早在2002年10月14日就已经在“集成仪表；工业自动化控制系统”商品上注册了“PG图+PANGU+盘古”文字图形组合商标（如下图所示）。Continue Reading 一审认定将他人商标设为网络搜索关键词构成商标侵权

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Angie Ng

In March every year, lawmakers and political advisers from the National People’s Congress (NPC) (Chinas equivalent of Parliament) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC) (China’s top advisory body) conduct sessions in Beijing to take stock of social, legal and economic issues in China for the preceding year; and discuss objectives (in relation to the same issues) for the year going forward1.    These sessions are often referred to as the "two sessions".

Two statements which have arisen during these two sessions; are of particular interest (from an antitrust law perspective):
 Continue Reading The annual “two sessions” and antitrust law noises

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Angie Ng

We understand from media reports that on 18 February 2011, Hudong1  (a Chinese internet search engine) made an Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) complaint to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) against Baidu2  (arguably the most often or commonly used internet search engine in China; often referred to as China’s equivalent of "Google"). Continue Reading Wiki-Hudong against Wiki-Baidu – an abuse of dominance?