By Susan Ning, Kate Peng, and Yumeng Li King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group
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the outset, the PRC Anti-monopoly Law (AML) does not set out specific requirement on information exchange among affiliates. However, it explicitly provides that independent competitors are prohibited from reaching monopoly agreements.[1]“Monopoly
By Li Qiang King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities Group
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n recent years, the Chinese government has been dedicated to the reform of state-owned hospitals and has issued a series of policy papers in this field, including Opinions of the State Council on Deepening Medicine and Health System Reform issued by the State
ByMalcolm Brennan and Alison Black King & Wood Mallesons’Canberra Office
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he Treasurer, through the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), has been given additional power to scrutinise the sale of critical infrastructure assets to private foreign investors, with a clear focus on national security.
The changes to the Foreign Acquisition and Takeovers Regulation 2015
By Liu Cheng, Simon Holmes and Michael Reiss King & Wood Mallesons
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inese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) acquiring businesses or entering into joint ventures with other parties may unexpectedly trigger an EU merger filing. This was clarified by the European Commission’s decision clearing the UK joint venture between China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN)
By He Wei and Wang Yaxi, King & Wood Mallesons’ IP Group
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he principle of good faith applies not only to the manner in which trademark rights are obtained, but also to the manner in which those rights are enforced through litigation. Trademarks may generate steady income for trademark holders due to the long
By Susan Ning, Cheng Liu, Hazel Yin, Ruohan Zhang King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group
On
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arch 23rd, 2016, after several rounds of internal inquiries, Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry (Draft for Comments) (hereinafter the “Consultation Draft”), drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) together with relevant authorities under the authorization by the State Council Anti-Monopoly Commission, was open for public comments. As the first comprehensive industrial antitrust guideline in China, the publication of the Consultation Draft stands as a milestone.
Continue Reading Highlights on Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry — Overview and Frequently Asked Questions
by Susan Ning, Cheng Liu, Hazel Yin, Yun Bi King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group
In recent years, Chinese authorities have dealt with many antitrust cases for resale price maintenance (“RPM”), and such investigations have spread into various industries, e.g. milk powder, eye glasses, alcohol, automotive industry, etc. Especially in the automotive industry, since 2014, some well-known branded auto suppliers have been fined for restricting their distributors’ resale price. On March 23, 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) published the consultation draft of the Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry (“Consultation Draft”) to invite public comments. The Consultation Draft particularly provides detailed explanations on RPM and provides practical guidance for both companies and the Anti-Monopoly Enforcement Agencies (“AMEAs”).
Continue Reading Highlights on Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry– Clarifying the Enforcement on RPM
By Susan Ning, Cheng Liu, Hazel Yin, Yumeng Li King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group
SummaryAuto suppliers often impose non-price restrictions, such as territorial restrictions and customer restrictions, on their distributors. In previous penalty decisions of Anti-Monopoly Enforcement Authorities (“AMEAs”), non-price restrictions in association with resale price maintenance may be found violating Article 14(1) or (2) of the Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”). However, AMEAs have yet punished any standalone non-price restriction under Article 14(3) of the AML.
Continue Reading Highlights on Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry– Vertical Non-price Restrictions Face Potential Challenges
By Susan Ning, Cheng Liu, Hazel Yin, Lingbo Wei, Shenglan Liu King & Wood Mallesons Commercial & Regulatory Group
On
March 23, 2016, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) published the draft of the State Council Anti-Monopoly Commission’s Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry (the “Consultation Draft”) and invited comments from the public.
There have been quite a few antitrust investigations in China’s automotive industry in recent years. For the automotive aftermarket, auto suppliers in China have long been criticized for imposing restrictions on spare parts suppliers, distributors and repairers, which leads to the exclusive supply of original spare parts in the aftermarket as well as the foreclosure of repair technical information. Customers have been worried about the high parts-to-whole ratio and the unavailability to after-sale services.
Continue Reading Highlights on Antitrust Guidelines for Automotive Industry — Antitrust Issues in Automotive Aftermarket
By Xiong Jin, Wang Kaiding , Huang Mengtian, Sun Yili, Luo Hai King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities Group
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April 13, 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) published a consultation paper (Consultation Paper) on its website, seeking public opinion on the amendments (Amendments)
