MOFCOM Unveils Draft Guideline for Simple Merger Review

On April 18, 2014, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) unveiled the first tentative guideline for the simple merger review process:

• Filing parties may submit a written petition for simple merger before the actual submission of the merger case.

• The following documents, in both confidential and public versions, need to be included in the petition:

  • The petition form including the personal information of the petitioner (can be found here);

  • A description of the relevant market, including market shares and major competitors;

  • Documents pertaining to the merger, such as written agreements and contracts;

  • Merging parties’ financial audits;

  • Any other documents as requested by the Anti-Monopoly Bureau

• Filing parties to a proposed simple merger deal may use a filing software to fill out the petition form (the software can be found here).

• If a case does not meet the criteria for simple merger review, the petitioner must re-file the petition through the standard channel.

• The petitioner for simple review must also fill out a “public review” form (can be found here). The completed form will then be posted on the MOFCOM website for ten days, during which any third party can submit a grounded complaint to dispute the status of the case.

It would appear that MOFCOM’s recourse to a public review process is aimed at increasing the transparency of the merger review process, since it replaces the old “one-on-one” consultations between MOFCOM and domestic stakeholders. It also shows MOFCOM’s commitment to effectively reduce the amount of red-tape surrounding the merger review process.

https://www.antitrustlawyerblog.com/mofcom-publishes-long-awaited-interim-rule-on-applicable-standards-for-simple-merger-review-cases/, detailing the definition of ‘simple case’ that qualifies for the simple review procedure