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ARTICLE · 22 APRIL 2014

MOFCOM To Publicize Administrative Penalties For Illegal Implementation Of Concentrations

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To increase the incentives for compliance in the name of transparency of law enforcement, China's Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") has decided to publicize its decisions to penalize companies which fail to notify concentrations that meet the regulatory thresholds for notifications under China's Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML").

United StatesAntitrust/Competition Law
Lester Ross
Lester Ross
Kenneth Zhou
Kenneth Zhou
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To increase the incentives for compliance in the name of transparency of law enforcement, China's Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") has decided to publicize its decisions to penalize companies which fail to notify concentrations that meet the regulatory thresholds for notifications under China's Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML").1 This new disclosure rule will take effect on May 1, 2014 but will not have retroactive effect. MOFCOM has provided a hotline (+86 10 6519 8998) for tip-offs from the public for suspected violations. The new rule will at minimum cause reputational damage to companies which fail to notify their proposed concentrations. More importantly, MOFCOM's Anti-Monopoly Bureau expects the number of non-filings to decrease and the number of notifiable merger review notifications to increase.

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