Coca-Cola decision was reasonable

May 09, 2009 | BY

clpstaff &clp articles

Web-seminar listeners say Mofcom must provide more detailed statements

Pie chart showing results of a recent online poll
The regulator's decision in Coca-Cola's attempted takeover of Huiyuan Juice is “reasonably fair”, according to many practitioners, but significant fears of protectionism remain.

A live poll conducted by China Law & Practice during a recent web-seminar on the topic of China merger-control enforcement found that over 40% of listeners felt generally positive about the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's decision to block the takeover. But 39% said there was “not enough justification provided by Mofcom”, and 14% said it was “overly-protectionist”.


Commenting on the Coca-Cola decision and the poll results, Pinsent Masons senior associate Simon Sorockyj said that regulators should look at decisions such as these on an individual case basis, and that some protection of national interests was being exercised.

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