Maternity leave of female workers is now extended from 90 days to 98 days (14 weeks).

Letters of intent and MOUs have legal effect.

Green light given again to the approval of foreign investment in futures companies.

An issuer needs to convene a board meeting if the price-earnings ratio of its proposed share price is higher than the industrial average by 25%.

Share issuers and lead underwriters allowed to determine share pricing through negotiation between themselves.

After twelve years of consultation and drafting, the SPC has finally released an Interpretation on sale and purchase contracts, Jessica Fei and Weina Ye provide practical advice on what it means when drafting contracts

The valuation adjustment mechanism protects investments through a series of contracts, but a recent court case held a contract void, which has created uncertainty for investors

A series of reforms could finally open the country’s tightly controlled and regulated healthcare industry, but what are the potential opportunities and challenges for foreign investors?

For the first time China’s Copyright Law acknowledges reverse engineering, which shows the government’s changing attitude and courts’ readiness to rule on a difficult area of the Law

While China’s economic reforms have taken the world by storm, many industries remain heavily restricted. Foreign investors do not have much time left to move into these markets through the popular variable interest entity (VIE) structure

Sexual harassment becomes a legal issue for the first time under new Provisions to protect female employees

I am looking to set up a factory to manufacture equipment in China. I have heard that the coastal regions have become too expensive and that I should consider inland regions. Is this true? How does the legal framework differ from province to province?

The Supreme People’s Court has published a draft Interpretation that could increase compensation for workers dismissed during appraisals and award compensation for using non-compete agreements

Bright Food’s second high-profile acquisition of the year has sent the company into the French-wine industry, but Chinese companies still have a lot to learn when it comes to outbound investments

Apple’s infamous dispute with Proview has more to teach foreign investors about contracts and dispute resolution in China than it does about trademark law

Johnson & Johnson has won its vertical price fixing dispute

Classifying M&A transactions on the basis of market share could streamline anti-monopoly reviews

Ma Xiaogang, managing director of the China Copyright Association, defends changes to the Copyright Law to Janice Qu

The Shanghai sub-commission has published its own rules and declared itself an independent institution

The National Copyright Administration has caved in to the demands of the musicians in its latest Draft to the Law, but key provisions on licensing and software are causing concern

The CSRC has released a draft Circular on securities investments and the Standing Committee of the NPC a new draft of the PRC Securities Investment Funds Law. In addition, new rules may open up the investment of private capital in publishing

After ten years, the NPC has finally passed an Immigration Law providing a unified platform for managing immigration. China Law & Practice spoke with two leading employment lawyers to determine how the Law will affect immigration policies

The SPC has released an Interpretation on the Law during employment disputes and an Official Reply on accepting debt claims from tax arrears of bankrupt enterprises. The State Administration of Taxation also produced an announcement on the beneficial owner in tax agreements.

China’s pharmaceutical market is expanding rapidly, but recent policy developments mean multinationals need to rethink their strategy

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission has released a series of regulations relaxing investments with insurance proceeds. The China Banking Regulatory Commission has released a set of guidelines replacing bank performance by deadlines with new criteria.

The opening of the first wholly Taiwan-funded hospital in Shanghai last month is a strong signal that the healthcare sector is opening-up to foreign investment, but local policies need to catch-up with national level legislation

The China Securities and Regulatory Commission issued Measures for securities investments by QFIIs, lowering the qualification thresholds. China Insurance Regulatory Commission also released Measures forcing insurance companies to set up separate accounts for its assets.

China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) has released draft rules for a securitisation instrument for non-financial issuers

The China Securities and Regulatory Commission has issued draft Measures allowing employees to enjoy shareholding schemes. The China Insurance and Regulatory Commission has also released Measures disallowing shareholders of insurance companies to sell privately offered bonds to their own company

Zhang Jixing, director general of Sinopec’s legal department, spoke with China Law & Practice on sustainable development, globalisation and pioneering bond deals

The CSRC has released Measures opening up the wealth management sector to futures companies, while SAFE has issued an Announcement removing verification procedures of foreign exchange received from exports.

A securities finance programme launched today will boost margin trading while the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges have clarified rules on securities lending. Shenzhen has also issued the first regional regulations on sexual equality

Percentage of allocations to general reserves of financial enterprises raised to 1.5%.

Letters of intent and MOUs have legal effect.

Maternity leave for female workers extended from 90 to 98 days.

Listed insurance companies and insurance group companies allowed to issue subordinated convertible bonds.

Market access threshold of insurance intermediaries raised to Rmb50 million.

Share issuers and lead underwriters allowed to determine share pricing through negotiation between themselves.

An IPO P/E ratio should not be higher than the industrial average by 25%.

Transfer of existing shares to offline investors allowed in an IPO of new shares.

Green light given again to the approval of foreign investment in futures companies.

Mediation of securities disputes introduced.

A charge of 20% of the land grant or allocation fee to be imposed on land left idle for a year.

Natural persons allowed to register .cn domain names.

Private capital encouraged to enter the basic telecoms operation market through the taking of equity interests.

Minimum shareholding of private investors in rural banks may be lowered to 15%.

Private capital investment encouraged in railway construction.

Private capital encouraged to develop green transportation.

Private enterprises encouraged to list overseas.

Private investors may establish for-profit or not-for-profit hospitals.

Private investors may invest in SOEs with IP rights and land use rights.

FIEs encouraged to invest overseas Rmb funds in Pudong.

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