Clifford Chance
Horizontal mergers in the China context: The Uralkali/Silvinit potash merger and continuity of supply obligations
3 August 2011
Since the Anti-Monopoly Law came into force nearly three years ago, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has reviewed more than 240 transactions. It has prohibited one transaction, and intervened in six other cases imposing conditions. This is MOFCOM's eighth intervention and comes at a time when MOFCOM is soliciting comments on its draft guidelines on the assessment of mergers. The Uralkali/Silvinit decision offers guidance on MOFCOM's evolving approach to the assessment of horizontal mergers and behavioural remedies.
This briefing provides an overview of the conditional clearance decision and considers MOFCOM's approach to the assessment of competition effects in horizontal mergers. It also highlights the possible implications of the decision for future cases.
