On 5 December 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC“) – one of the three Chinese antitrust authorities – issued its decision fining the local unit of Medtronic, a U.S.-listed medical device maker, for resale price maintenance (“RPM“). Case summary Medtronic was found to maintain a distribution system for cardiovascular, rehabilitation therapy and…
On 4 November 2016, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC“) – one of China’s antitrust authorities – published on its website three decisions, whereby three payment encryption device suppliers were fined by SAIC’s branch in Anhui Province (“Anhui AIC“). Payment encryption devices are used by bank customers to protect the security of payments…
In June 2015, China pushed through a relatively bold liberalization of drug prices, moving from a regime where the government decides the prices or price ranges of the most commonly used drugs to a regime where the prices of most drugs are determined by market forces. Already then, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)…
On 14 June 2016, China’s State Council made public the Opinions on Establishing a Fair Competition Review System in the Development of the Market Regime (“Opinions“). The Opinions were approved on 1 June. The “fair competition review system” forms part of China’s broader efforts to tackle so-called “administrative monopolies,” a term used for various forms…
On 8 June 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM“) released its decision to lift the conditions it had imposed on Walmart’s acquisition of 33.6% of the shares in Newheight Holdings. This acquisition in 2012 gave Walmart corresponding rights over Yihaodian, one of China’s best-known e-commerce supermarkets, through a reported “variable interest entity” (“VIE“) structure….
WeChat is a very popular messaging app in China, similar to WhatsApp and Facebook Messaging in other parts of the world. It has social networking, gaming, e-commerce and mobile payment functionalities. The app plays an increasingly important role in social – and business – interactions in China. As a result, it is not surprising that…
On April 22, 2016, the State Council – China’s “cabinet” – released a reform plan for the salt industry. Salt-imbocca Edible salt has been subject to a State/government monopoly/-ies in China since the Han Dynasty in around 120 BC. Salt used to be a relatively scarce product, at least in the more inland areas of…
The European Commission recently published its decision clearing the joint acquisition by Electricité de France S.A. (EDF) and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) over a group of companies active in the nuclear energy sector. The decision provides a warning that transactions involving a Chinese State-owned enterprise (SOE) may trigger a mandatory notification to the…
On April 26, 2013, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC“) – one of China’s three antitrust law enforcement bodies – noted on its website that it had held a meeting with certain industry participants to obtain feedback on the latest draft Regulation on the Prohibition of Conduct Eliminating or Restricting Competition through Abuses of Intellectual…
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM“) has stepped up its merger control activities on many fronts in recent weeks, issuing ground-breaking decisions in the Glencore/Xstrata and Marubeni/Gavilon cases and circulating draft procedural rules for public consultation on merger remedies and on dealing with straightforward merger control cases. The new decisions On April 16, 2013, MOFCOM…
