China’s Anti Monopoly Law

Since the publication of the Anti Monopoly Law in August 2008, there has been a number of highprofile cases filed with the Chinese anti-trust authorities. The parties that were accused of breaching the law include both giant State owned companies and well known multinational companies. However, none of these cases have been investigated due to the delay in preparing the procedural investigation rules. This had caused China’s emerging anti-trust law to be seen as a “paper tiger” and lead many to doubt the credibility and competence of the Chinese anti-trust authorities.

In May the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) begun to show how it will meet the challenges of implementation of the AML with the publication for public comment of its draft Guidance on Monopoly Agreements and Abuse of A Dominant Position.

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In June SAIC promulgated the first set of procedural investigation rules and businesses will soon begin to see the first wave of anti-trust investigations in China. On site investigations and substantial fines are now a real possibility and it could be a costly oversight for a business not to take China’s anti-trust law seriously.

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