Overview

Two major announcements by China's NDRC in recent weeks suggest that the anti-monopoly enforcement authority might be entering a new period of heightened activity in its fight against pricing abuses.

First, on 9 November, China Central Television's News 30' program carried a report concerning an investigation being conducted by the NDRC into alleged abuses of dominance in the broadband access market by state-owned media giants China Telecom and China Unicom. Then, on 14 November, the NDRC announced that two Chinese pharmaceutical companies in Shandong Province had been fined more than RMB 7 million (approximately USD 1.1 million) for abuse of dominance in the market for high blood pressure medication. This represents by far the largest fine levied by the NDRC for anti-competitive pricing practices since the introduction of the Anti-monopoly Law in 2008.

In this briefing, Allen & Overy provides a brief overview of these important developments in the field of competition law in China, as well as a brief assessment of the legal issues involved.

Click 'View Briefing' to read on.