By Yuan Min, Wang Jianzhao and Kirby Carder, King & Wood Insurance Department

Recently, the Shanxi Provincial China Insurance Regulatory Commission ("CIRC") provided a report on the results of its insurance industry transparency project. The overall goal of the project was to promote the stable, secure, and sustained development of the insurance industry in Shanxi province by meshing together government regulation, internal insurance ocmpany protocols, insurance industry self-regulation, and public participation in the insurance industry.Continue Reading The Shanxi Provincial China Insurance Regulatory Commission has Provided a Report on the Success of its Insurance Industry Transparency Project

By Richard Wigley and Chen Wenping of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

There has been a great deal of interest lately – both from inside and outside of China – in P.R.C. governmental policies aimed a promoting "indigenous innovation". In an April 2010 publication entitled "2010 Notification Regarding the Development of Determining ‘ Indigenous Innovation’ Products (Draft Seeking Opinions)"  (hereinafter referred to as the "2010 Notification"), and jointly issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Commission for Development and Reform, and the Ministry of Finance, some government initiatives in this regard were addressed. While it makes perfect sense for any country to promote "indigenous innovation" as a means of economic growth, it is valuable to look at one measure of  "indigenous innovation" — invention patents. Specifically, it is valuable to look at the growth in recent years of invention patents granted in China, as just one indicator of  "indigenous innovation".Continue Reading China’s Drive towards Indigenous Innovation Seen in Rise in Invention Patents Granted to Domestic Entities

By Susan Ning, Shan Lining, Yin Ranran and Angie Ng

On February 3, 2011, the State Council released the Notice on Establishing National Security Review Mechanism for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors ("Notice").   According to the Notice, China will implement a national security review process in relation to foreign funded mergers and acquisitions ("M&A") of domestic enterprises 30 days after the issuance of the Notice. A ministerial joint committee ("Joint Committee") led by the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") and the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") will be set up to administer and enforce the national security review process. Continue Reading National Security Review Mechanism Formally Established in China

ByYuan Min, Wang Jianzhao , and Kirby Carder, King & Wood Insurance Department, Beijing

The State Council has ordered the Foreign Enterprise Representative Institution Registration and Administration Regulations (Order of State Council No. 584) (《外国企业常驻代表机构登记管理条例》) to come into force on March 1st, 2011. This new regulation alters the rules for a foreign insurance institution to register a representative office in China, and it regulates the activities that a foreign insurance institution representative office can engage in once it is properly registered.Continue Reading China Implements New Rules for Registering Foreign Representative Offices

By Xu Ping, Leading partner of King & Wood’s Corporate Group

On February 3, 2011, the General Office of the PRC State Council issued the Notice Regarding the Establishment of National Security Review Mechanism for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (“国务院办公厅关于建立外国投资者并购境内企业安全审查制度的通知”) (the "Notice"), which will take effect 30 days after its promulgation. The Notice represents another major step that the Chinese government has taken in recent years in the area of regulating mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of domestic companies by foreign investors in China.Continue Reading China Issues Rules on National Security Review for M&A Transactions

By Susan Ning, Chai Zhifeng and Yin Ranran

In November 2009, the Ministry of Commerce of China ("MOFCOM") issued the decision to clear the Panasonic/Sanyo deal with conditions, one of which is for Panasonic to divest its nickel-hydride car batteries business in Japan.  On February 9, 2011, the sale was sealed with Panasonic selling this business to Hunan Corun New Energy Co., Ltd. for about RMB 40 million.Continue Reading Issues to consider when divesting business in the context of a conditional clearance case

By Susan Ning and Huang Jing

Partly driven by the QQ-360 disputes (see our article entitled " The QQ / 360 Disputes – Who, What, Where, When and Preliminary Antitrust Analysis"), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology  (MIIT) released the Interim Rules for Supervision and Management of Internet Information Service Market (Draft for Comment) (Draft Rules), on 12 January 2011.

The objective of the Draft Rules is to safeguard the competitive environment in relation to the internet information service industry, and to safeguard consumers’ interests. Broadly, the Draft Rules sets out the code of conduct for internet information service providers (IISP), and dispute resolution mechanisms. Continue Reading MIIT releases draft rules which govern antitrust issues

By Susan Ning and Liu Jia

Two and half years after the enactment of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), the anti-trust authorities in China (i.e. the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC)) issued detailed rules prohibiting abuse of dominance within their respective remit.Continue Reading Comparison of the NDRC rules and the SAIC rules on Abuse of Dominant

By Richard  Wigley of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

Hollywood and Hong Kong film studios have long struggled to monetize their content in China. Though revenues from traditional movie theaters are growing rapidly, the real action may be found in the online market, where Chinese youth prefer to obtain their entertainment (i.e. film and television programming). How then can a content owner best take advantage of this rapid movement to online viewing in today’s China?Continue Reading China’s Online Video Providers struck by PRC Copyright Enforcement and a shifting Market are forced to transform.