New Anti-Monopoly Law Of The PRC

On 1 August 2008, the first PRC Anti-Monopoly Law came into effect. This article discusses important aspects of the law, including the unique feature of its enforcement by different government agencies, which was only clarified shortly before this date.

Monopolies and Monopolistic Behaviour

The Anti-Monopoly Law identifies three types of monopolistic behaviour:

• Monopolistic agreements between entities;

• Abuse of dominant market position by entities; and

• Concentration of entities that may eliminate or restrict competition.

"Entities" under the Anti-Monopoly Law are defined as natural persons, legal persons or other organisations that produce or trade goods, or that provide services.