Halfway To Expedited Merger Filing: China’s MOFCOM Defines "Simple" Cases For Summary Procedure

China's Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") recently issued the long-anticipated Tentative Provisions on the Applicable Standards Relating to the Summary Procedure for Cases of Concentration of Business Operators (关于经营者集中简易案件适用标准的暂行规定, the "Tentative Provisions"), which became effective on February 12, 2014.

The Tentative Provisions provide companies involved in certain transactions that require a pre-closing notification to MOFCOM under China's Anti-monopoly Law ("AML") with the opportunity to obtain a simplified and expedited review process. While this is widely viewed as a positive and promising development, the Tentative Provisions do not provide specific guidance or information on the scope, process, timing or other practical aspects of the new summary procedures. Thus, until MOFCOM handles transactions that qualify for this new process, it remains to be seen whether parties to notifiable transactions can expect significant reductions in the time and burden