Competition enforcement under old laws is declining

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has released its enforcement statistics for the first quarter of 2009. The figures include details of competition law-related cases, and seem to show that the agency is shifting its focus away from pre-2008 laws.

All the cases described on the SAIC's website were dealt with according to provisions which were in force before the enactment of the PRC Anti-monopoly Law (AML) in 2008, including the PRC Anti-unfair Competition Law. The figures show the SAIC dealt with only 76 cases relating to restrictions on competition in the last quarter – a year-on-year decrease of 25.49% compared with the same period last year – indicating a move away from the old laws (although the exact reason for the decrease is not clear).

“Does this indicate a general winding down of enforcement under the Anti-unfair Competition Law in advance of the introduction of the AML? Or is this a result of the diversion of SAIC resources to AML enforcement, resulting in fewer resources available to deal with Anti-unfair Competition Law cases?” asked Kirstie Nicholson, of counsel with Lovells in Shanghai.