European Chamber Comments on State Council’s Notice on Mergers and Acquisitions Go back »

2011-02-16 | All chapters

Beijing, Feb 16th, 2011- The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China acknowledges the General Office of the State Council’s issuing the Notice of the General Office of the State Council concerning Security Review of Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors on Feb 3rd, 2011, as a step towards increased transparency regarding the merger and acquisition procedures in China.

The Notice is a positive development insofar as it clarifies the Interim Provisions on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign investors published in 2006, which only mentioned famous brands and strategic sectors, and adds criteria about majority or board control.

Jacques de Boisséson, President of the European Chamber said, “We recognize that reviewing mergers and acquisitions is a prerogative of the Chinese government. It is a practice conducted by all major countries to ensure economic stability. However, we hope that implementation of the new approval process does not adversely affect the predictability of foreign investments in China.”

According to Francois Renard, Chair of the European Chamber’s Competition Sub-Working Group, “Many questions have been answered since the last draft of the Notice was circulated in June, 2010, yet it still raises certain concerns. Among these are an extremely broad definition of sectors affected by the Notice and, from a procedural point of view, and a lack of indication as to how this process interacts with the merger control review provided for in the Anti-Monopoly Law.”

For further information, please contact:

Effie Wu Press Officer

European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

Office C412, Beijing Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Beijing, 100125

Mobile: 134 8888 1345 Tel: +86 (10) 6462 2066 ext. 22

Fax: +86 (10) 6462 2067

Email: ewu@euccc.com.cn Website: www.europeanchamber.com.cn

北京，2011年2月16日- 中国欧盟商会认为国务院办公室2011年2月3日下达的《国务院办公厅关于建立外国投资者并购境内企业安全审查制度的通知》（下简称《通知》）是中国在提高外资并购境内企业程序方面透明度的积极举措。

在一定程度上，该《通知》具有积极意义。较之2006年10号文件《关于外国投资者并购境内企业的暂行规定》，该《通知》将规定范围从知名品牌及战略产业扩大到了其他产业。此外，《通知》也明确指出，审查制度将只包括外国投资者取得实际控制权的情况。

中国欧盟商会主席戴杰谈到：“对企业并购进行安全审查是中国政府的权利，这也是世界各国保证经济稳定的手段。但是我们希望在实际执行中，新安全审查制度不会对在华外国投资的可预见性产生负面影响。”

Francois Renard，欧盟商会竞争子工作组主席认为：“自去年六月《关于建立外国投资者并购境内企业安全审查制度》的草案公布以来，许多问题已经得到了解决，然而《通知》仍然引发了一些担忧。《通知》中对于行业的定义过于宽泛。除此之外，从操作的角度来说，如何将安全审查与反垄断法中提及的合并控制审查对应仍有待澄清。”

如需更多信息，请联系：

吴冕

中国欧盟商会新闻官

电话: +86 10 6462 2066 - 22

传真: +86 10 6462 2067

手机: +86 134 8888 1345

E-mail: ewu@euccc.com.cn

For more information please contact