MOFCOM's review processes explained

China's economic development and internationalisation has dramatically increased the importance of anti-monopoly reviews during mergers and acquisitions. In 2008, the country introduced the first PRC Anti-monopoly Law (中华人民共和国反垄断法). Since then, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has issued guidelines and regulations covering substantive and procedural rules to clarify its approach in enforcing the regime. MOFCOM had also given 15 conditional approval and prohibition decisions by the end of July 2012. The Ministry is not required to publish its unconditional approval decisions. However, according to its own data, it had reviewed more than 380 cases by the end of 2011. MOFCOM left a considerable mark on international businesses with these unconditional decisions. It is certain China's anti-monopoly reviews will become increasingly important in the future. But how does the review process work and what should companies expect during a review? In addition, how does the recently proposed Chinese “fast-track” regime compare with those of the European Union and the United States?