By Susan Ning, Kate Peng and Ying Zhu King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group

Ountitledn peng_kateDecember 8th 2015, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) publicized on its website Guangdong Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC)’s decision in relation to the boycott investigation into Guangzhou Panyu Animation Association (GAGA). This is the very first investigation that focuses on a boycott agreement. In previous investigations where boycotts were identified, there were always other anti-competitive agreements involved and boycott agreements were not identified as the target violations that were subject to fines.

Here we introduce the GAGA investigation and some previous boycott-related investigations. We then present a short guide to practices that may constitute boycott agreements identified by the authorities.
Continue Reading First Boycott Decision: Be Careful with Concerted Exclusive Dealing

By Susan Ning, Hazel Yin, and Han Wu

On July 17th, People’s Daily reported that the Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission is investigating gold retailers including but not limited to Shanghai Lao Feng Xiang (600612. SH) and Yuyuan Tourist Mart Company (600655.SH) for manipulation of gold jewelry retail price in Shanghai under the auspices of the Shanghai Gold & Jewelry Trade Association (“SGJTA”).
Continue Reading NDRC Probes Shanghai Gold Association and Gold Retailers for Price Fixing

By Susan Ning and Hazel Yin

August 1, 2012 marks the fourth anniversary of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”). 1 With only 57 articles, the AML introduces a series of new regimes governing not only transactions but also day-to-day operations of domestic and foreign companies.  This article presents an overview of how the AML has been implemented so far, with particular focus on the latest development, and where it may go in the near future.   

Merger Control

The Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) is responsible for reviewing concentration of undertakings that trigger a certain turnover thresholds. 
Continue Reading China’s Anti-Monopoly Law: Retrospect and Prospect on the Fourth Anniversary

作者:宁宣凤   尹冉冉    金杜律师事务所反垄断组

至2012年8月1日,《中华人民共和国反垄断法》(以下简称《反垄断法》)实施已满四年。1虽然仅有57条,但《反垄断法》确立了一系列崭新的制度,其适用对象不仅包括国内公司,也包括境外企业,适用范围不仅涵盖公司的日常运营,也包括公司间的交易行为。本文简要回顾《反垄断法》四年的实施情况,并对其实施趋势予以展望。

一、合并控制

经营者集中在达到一定营业额标准后,需提交商务部进行经营者集中的反垄断审查。自2008年8月1 日以来,商务部累计审查逾450起交易,其中95%以上的交易获得无条件批准。截至2012年8月1日,商务部已附条件批准14起交易,禁止1起(可口可乐收购汇源)。Continue Reading 中国反垄断法实施四周年回顾与展望

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Huang Jing

On April 24, 2012, TV.SOHU.COM, v.QQ.COM,and iQIYI.COM (the specialized video website of Baidu)jointly announced the establishment of an alliance called "Video Content Cooperation" (VCC) for vedio copyright joint purchasing. The VCC is viewed as another "faction" after the recent combination of Youku and Tudou. It is reported that the main purpose of the VCC is to jointly purchasing the copy right for their own each website.1  

TV.SOHU.COM, v.QQ.COM, and iQIYI.COM are all internet video websites and are close competitors. Their cooperation may affect the competition status in the market. This article will analyze under the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) whether joint purchase arrangement could constitute "horizontal monopoly agreement".Continue Reading Joint purchasing under the AML-SOHU, QQ and Baidu launched Video Content Cooperation Alliance