P.R.C. Mergers: MOFCOM Takes Control

After over a decade of deliberation, China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) was enacted in 2007 and finally came into force in August 2008. The new law was quickly hailed as a milestone in China’s transition to a fully-fledged market economy. So far, however, the AML’s implementation and enforcement has been gradual. Only in the area of merger control has there been a substantive level of activism, with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) – in charge of merger reviews – active on both the legislative front as well as in individual enforcement cases. This article explains why companies planning transactions with potential effects in China must be mindful of MOFCOM’s growing sophistication and assertiveness.