Domestic-to-Domestic Transactions – A Gap in China’s Merger Control Regime?

China recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its landmark enactment and implementation of the Anti-monopoly Law (AML) in August. In the past five years, Chinese antitrust agencies carefully but steadily have expanded the scope of their enforcement activities and increased the sophistication of their enforcement. The State Council appointed three antitrust enforcement agencies: the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), which handles mergers; the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which has retained its responsibilities for price-related offenses, including cartels; and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), which regulates non-price-related abuse of dominance and monopoly agreements. To date, MOFCOM’s merger review remains the most prominent part of China’s AML enforcement, receiving over 700 notifications. With a fast-growing record, MOFCOM has become a very significant antitrust regulator that cross-border M&A counsel cannot overlook.