MOFCOM's Approach to Merger Remedies: Distinctions from Other Competition Authorities

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Michael Han & Zhaofeng Zhou (Freshfields) discuss MOFCOM's Approach to Merger Remedies: Distinctions from Other Competition Authorities.

ABSTRACT: China's Anti-monopoly Law ("AML") took effect in August 2008. From the AML's inception to the end of 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM," the authority responsible for merger review under the AML), had imposed "restrictive conditions"--known as remedies in other jurisdictions, such as the European Union--in 10 transactions out of the 382 it had reviewed. MOFCOM has not yet issued a general guidance on merger remedies, and there have been few studies on the Chinese merger remedies regime. This article attempts to examine the key distinctions between MOFCOM's approach to merger remedies and the approach taken in other jurisdictions. It also briefly analyzes the implications of such distinctions for companies, which may need to consider offering remedies to obtain merger clearance in China.