The Interim Rules on the Assessment of the Impact of Concentrations on Competition of China has been taken effect on 5 Sep 2011. The rules provide the first guidance from the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”). The Rules details the five AML factors and the Assessment Rules make clear that MOFCOM will analyze a transaction for three competitive effects.
The Interim Rules provide that market shares are an important factor for analyzing the relevant market structure and the positions of an undertaking and its competitors in the relevant market and the degree of market concentration is another element in assessing the relevant market’s structure and is thus useful when determining the impact of the concentration on the relevant market.
MOFCOM will analyze whether a transaction increases barriers to market entry and whether entry of potential competitors will be sufficient to offset any anti-competitive effects caused by the transaction.