Elizabeth Xiao-Ru Wang

In the years following the introduction of merger review in China in 2008, China emerged as one of the main jurisdictions for global merger transactions. Today, obtaining clearance in China is often crucial to the overall success of global deals. Merger review in China is therefore a highly relevant topic for companies engaged in global transactions, and for their advisors. We review past merger decisions in the semiconductor industry to illustrate how these events may exacerbate differences in merger reviews between China and other major jurisdictions and may therefore have an impact on global transactions that are notifiable in China. We also look at a development that is of great relevance for transactions in China : merger review in the digital economy. In 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (‘SAMR’) published Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Internet Economy, which signaled a shift towards increased enforcement in the digital economy, and which has implications also for merger review in China.