MOFCOM’s Latest Guidance for Business Operators’ Concentration Applications
2014-07-03The Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) has been making significant progress in antitrust enforcement and regulation. Since 2009, MOFCOM has reviewed nearly 800 concentration applications and has issued regulations including the Concentration Application Methods, Concentration Review Methods, Interim Regulations On Investigations and Handling Non-Concentration Applications According to Law, Interim Provisions on Applicable Standards for Simplified Concentrations, and Guidance for Business Operators’ Simplified Concentration Application, as well as other regulations and regulatory documents.
On June 6, 2014, MOFCOM issued its revisions to the Guidance for Business Operators’ Concentration Applications Issued on May 1, 2009 (hereinafter "2014 Guidance" and “2009 Guidance,” respectively). The 2014 Guidance embodies the practical experience gained in this area over the past 5 years, and significantly revises the 2009 Guidance by resolving many common problems associated with concentration applications.
The 2014 Guidance performs two main functions: (1) it adopts existing laws and regulations, for example, Articles 1 and 2 respectively adopt Article 20 of the Anti-monopoly Law regarding concentrations and Article 3 of the State Council Regulation on Concentration Applications Standards; and (2) it enacts important new rules, such as defining and clarifying controlling rights, concentrations in new joint ventures, defining and calculating business turnover, pre-review negotiating procedures and content, application timeframes, usage of client software, and withdrawal of applications, etc.
