Highlights Of China's First Horizontal Merger Review Guidelines

On 10 December 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") released the Guidelines for Review of Horizontal Concentration of Undertakings ("Guidelines"). It is the first time that China publishes guidelines to display the detailed analytical framework, review approach and key considerations in the merger review procedure. The Guidelines were based on years of review experience accumulated in China and also reflects the most updated global economic dynamics and features.

The Guidelines embody 87 articles in total distributed in 12 chapters, covering all the core aspects such as evidence materials, market definition, market share and concentration degree, unilateral and coordinative effects, potential competition, market entry, buyer power and efficiency.