China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) will finally take effect on August 1, and enterprises in China should be wary. After more than a decade of drafts and revisions, the law provides a standardized set of guidelines on competition, aiming to create a level playing field for both domestic and foreign enterprises. The law regulates certain activities such as price fixing and merger controls, which will impact all sectors in the entire Chinese market.
But enterprises and lawyers have been complaining about the AML, saying it is full of ambiguities. Lawyers are finding it difficult to interpret thoroughly. At the end of March, the State Council published the draft Regulations on Notifications of Concentrations of Undertakings for public comment, in an attempt to clarify some uncertainties.1
The intention was good, but ambiguities remain.
THE DRAFT ON MERGER CONTROLS
Crucial information such as notification thresholds were originally missing from the AML....