On 28 November 2019, the State Administration of Market
Regulation (SAMR) released for public comment draft
"Anti-Monopoly Compliance Guidelines for Operators" (the
Draft Guidelines).1 These non-binding guidelines
recommend measures for "business operators" subject to
the Antimonopoly Law (AML) to develop and implement antitrust
compliance programmes. The Draft Guidelines integrate prevailing
best practices for international compliance programmes, while
reflecting the unique challenges of antitrust risk management in
China.
Substantive roadmap
The Draft Guidelines provide a roadmap to SAMR's published
guidance on the substantive rules against anticompetitive monopoly
agreements and abuse of dominance. Participants in monopoly
agreements are referred to SAMR's leniency programme for
instructions on seeking amnesty or penalty reductions through
voluntary disclosure to SAMR. Similarly, companies are advised to
comply with merger notification requirements.
