The Chinese government announced on March 13, 2018, that it will consolidate the duties of three competition agencies into a new government agency to handle all antitrust matters. While it is too early to tell how this reorganization will impact China’s review of transactions and conduct cases, we believe that this change could lead to greater consistency and potentially more experienced attorneys reviewing competition matters. Access the full article.
China’s Latest Enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law and Price Supervision/Regulation
by John Z.L. Huang, Alex An, Bryan Fu and Cook Xu China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently outlined its latest efforts in the enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law and price supervision. This newsletter summarizes the noteworthy information NDRC disclosed. Click here to read the full article.
China’s Antitrust Authority Imposes Fines on Foreign Corporations for the First Time
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Jared Nelson and Sean Pan Recently China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) imposed an RMB 353 million (USD 56.7 million) penalty against an international price-fixing cartel of LCD manufacturers, the largest the NDRC has ever imposed for antitrust infringement. The penalty is China’s first enforcement action against an international cartel and sends a strong signal to multinational corporations operating in China that enforcement actions against cartels will not be limited to Chinese entities. To read the full article, click here.
Energy Sector A Target – China’s Antitrust Enforcement Agencies to Take Action Against International Cartels
by Frank Schoneveld In the last six months, China's antitrust enforcement agencies have signed five Memorandums of Cooperation with antitrust authorities in the United States, European Union, South Korea, Australia and Brazil. During this same period, Chinese antitrust enforcement agencies have substantially increased their personnel resources. So far, in 2012 more than 10 cartel investigations have been opened by China’s antitrust enforcement agencies, resulting in fines of millions of dollars in four cases in the last four months alone. (In the previous three years there had been only three cartel cases with total reported fines of less than US$1 million). Why all of this activity? The implications seem clear, and it is not just a matter of reading the tea leaves (so to speak): the Chinese antitrust enforcement agencies are clearly gearing up to implement an even more aggressive enforcement agenda that will now include international...
Price-Fixing Cartels: China Crackdown Continues
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Jared Nelson and Sean Pan Several major actions taken against price-fixing cartels by China’s enforcement authorities in the last year have sent a clear message that this is not a temporary campaign. It is a new reality. To read the full article, click here.
Global Antitrust Cooperation: EU’s Top Regulator Signs MoU with China
by Henry L.T. Chen, David Henry, Frank Schoneveld and Philipp Werner On September 20 , 2012, European Commission officials concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese officials in respect of antitrust law. Signed by the Directorate General for Competition and two of China’s antitrust law enforcement authorities, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the MoU strengthens the relationship between the two jurisdictions’ respective antitrust authorities. To read the full article, click here.
China Law Alert: Focus on Competition – March 2012
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld, Alex An, Brian Fu and Angel Wang McDermott Will & Emery has released the latest China Law Alert: Focus on Competition, which provides insight on current issues surrounding cross-border antitrust and transactional issues. China’s New Merger Control Regime Makes Major Progress in Its First Three Years It is now just more than three years since China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) was introduced. Compared with the well-established practices of US antitrust and EU competition authorities, AML enforcement is still in its infancy. However, China’s AML regulators, especially the authority in charge of merger control, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), has moved quickly to make its mark on international business. Now, most large, cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures must also successfully pass the rigors of review by MOFCOM as well as the European Commission and the US Department of Justice...
China’s MOFCOM to Review Merger in Gas Market
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and Alex An Recently, ENN Energy Holdings Limited and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation jointly announced the acquisition of all outstanding shares in China Gas Holdings Limited. This acquisition triggers a requirement to notify and obtain clearance from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Therefore, MOFCOM’s approval will be one of the preconditions for ENN Energy and Sinopec to close the transaction. To read the full article, please click here.
China NDRC Fines Two Pharmaceutical Distributors for Monopolistic Practice
by Henry L.T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and Alex An Recently,China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) imposed large fines on two pharmaceutical distributors. This move indicates the enforcement agency, which supervises price-related monopolistic practices, is beginning to take a more active role in enforcing the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law. To read the full article, click here.