China: Gov to merge regulators creating a powerful new competition regulator

According to a report on Tuesday, March 13, China will form a powerful new competition and food safety regulator in a bid to ramp up oversight of mergers and acquisitions and price-fixing as the world’s second-largest economy seeks to make policymaking more efficient.

China plans to create seven new ministries and a raft of government agencies announced on Tuesday, one of the most significant changes is the creation of a national markets supervision management bureau.

The new body will decide on antimonopoly and pricing issues, replacing the competition oversight roles of the three national antitrust regulators: the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

The bureau “will undertake unified antitrust enforcement and standardize and safeguard market order,”, among other duties, China’s State Council, said in a proposal submitted to the annual parliament session.

Full Content: Reuters

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