The Chinese State Council publishes provisions on notification thresholds of concentrations of undertakings

The Provisions of the State Council on Notification Thresholds of Concentrations of Undertakings (the "Provisions") were published by the State Council on 3 August 2008 and came into effect on the same day. After months of speculation, some guidance on the merger control regime under the Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML") has been issued. However, apart from providing slightly improved thresholds compared to the draft provided to the public in March, the long-awaited Provisions did not elicit excitement from the business community, as was previously anticipated. These new thresholds, without supporting provisions on procedures, could have a significant impact on cross-border M&A given they could cause considerable uncertainties and delays to deals completing. The first step - not a