By Xu Ping & Mark Schaub King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment Practice
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has recently issued a number of notices delegating approval competency to lower governmental levels. This delegation of approval competency to local authorities will greatly accelerate the approval process for foreign invested projects. Two prominent areas in this general policy of devolution are delegation of approval authority over (i) foreign invested holding companies and (ii) foreign invested venture capital enterprises (“FIVCEs”) as well as foreign invested venture capital management enterprises (“FIVCE Management Firm”).