Britain's choice, China's pain?

Although current procedures will remain unchanged in the short term, once Brexit becomes official, Chinese companies may have to do without certain advantages in the trade bloc, such as the one-stop shop merger filing with the European Commission. The UK aspects of international M&A deals would no longer fall under the EU's jurisdiction, but rather under that of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This could lead to diverging timetables, procedures and outcomes, and the same practices could be subject to simultaneous and parallel investigations by the EU and the CMA, a Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom briefing said.

China's antitrust enforcement officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EU in September 2012, and in recent probes, the NDRC has had exchange visits and shared information with other authorities to collectively combat cartel behavior. For example, LCD panel producers (including Samsung Electronics, LG Display and AU Optronics) which were fined by the NDRC in 2013 were previously penalized by the EU. Japanese auto parts makers punished in China last year were also fined in the EU and other jurisdictions in 2014.

The DLA Piper report said that post-Brexit visa requirements would make it difficult for companies to move employees within Europe, diminishing the pool of talent and skills available to employers in the UK. For the many Chinese companies looking at investing in an EU platform, this could add to the pile of reasons to set up offices in countries like France or Germany instead of in London.

“The UK will have to negotiate new trade deals itself based on an incredibly detailed and complex part of global regulation that comes from the World Trade Organization,” Stuart Fuller, global chair at King & Wood Mallesons, said to Legal Week.

By Katherine Jo

英国在6月23日的退欧公投结果震动世界各国，不仅重挫货币和股票市场，也促使法律行业准备迎接从并购、合伙交易到贸易协议的新一轮谈判。

尽管中国领导人和学术界人士快速反应，弱化退欧影响，并强调政府有足够财力来限制退欧效应，但法律界人士指出眼前面临着巨大风险。根据欧华律师事务所发布的消息，英国是中国投资欧洲的最大接收国，而中国是英国商品的第五大出口市场。此外，英国也是第一个加入亚洲基础设施投资银行（中国方面应对西方多边金融机构的组织）的欧洲国家，而伦敦正在巩固其作为领先的离岸人民币中心的地位。

投票发生的时机非常敏感，中国对外投资在今年达到最高峰。虽然英镑在退欧后严重贬值，使英国资产更加便宜，但中国公司对于在现阶段投入过多资金相当谨慎，包括那些寻求收购英国企业，作为进入欧洲市场门户的公司。人们担心的问题包括具有潜在不确定性的风险前景，以及需要对一些贸易事项作监管方面的厘清。

霍金路伟国际律师事务所亚洲区负责人Patrick Sherrington对《Legal Week》表示：“有大量问题将会是许多企业共同面对的，例如合同条款、税务、跨境数据流等。但如果谈到单独竞争、合规和数据保护机制，这里的企业将非常关心这些问题对自身的影响。”

尽管目前程序在短期内保持不变，一旦正式退欧后，中国公司可能失去在贸易集团国中的某些优势，例如与欧洲委员会的一站式并购申报。国际并购交易的英国部份不再由欧盟司法管辖，而是由英国竞争与市场管理局（CMA）管辖。世达律师事务所的简报指出，这可能导致不同的时间表、程序和结果，而且同一项操作可能受到欧盟和CMA的同时平行调查。

中国的反垄断执行官员在2012年9月与欧盟签署谅解备忘录，近期，国家发改委还与其他部门交流访问并分享信息，以共同打击卡特尔行为。例如，2013年遭发改委罚款的LCD面板制造商（包括三星电子、LG显示器和友达光电）之前受欧盟处罚。去年在中国受处罚的日本汽车零件制造商也于2014年在欧盟和其他司法管辖区被处以罚款。

欧华律师事务所的报告表示，退欧后的签证要求使公司在欧洲内部转移员工的难度更大，减少雇主可以在英国获得的人才库和技能储备。对于许多寻求在欧盟平台上投资的中国公司而言，这使他们有更多的理由在法国或德国等国，而不是在伦敦设立办事处。

金杜律师事务所全球主席Stuart Fuller向《Legal Week》指出：“英国将不得不根据来自世贸组织的极其详尽且复杂的一部分全球法规，自行谈判新的贸易交易”。

（作者：赵修敏）

Britain's vote to leave the European Union sent shockwaves around the world, pummeling currency and equity markets and prompting the legal industry to brace for a wave of negotiations on issues ranging from M&A and partnership deals to trade agreements.

While Chinese leaders and academics have been quick to play down the impact and stress that the government has enough financial ammo to limit the fallout, law practitioners point out the huge stakes at hand. The UK is the largest recipient of Chinese investment into Europe, and China is the fifth-largest export market for British goods, according to a DLA Piper alert. Britain was also the first European country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—Beijing's answer to Western multilateral financial institutions—while London is consolidating its position as a leading offshore renminbi hub.

The vote comes at an especially sensitive time, with Chinese outbound investment at its peak this year. While the pound's post-Brexit plunge will make British assets cheaper, Chinese companies may be wary of putting too much money on the table just yet, including those that were looking to acquire UK businesses as a gateway to the European market. The concerns include a potentially unsure risk outlook and the need for regulatory clarification of a number of trade-related matters.

“There are lots of issues that are going to be generic to many businesses—contractual terms, tax, cross-border data flows,” Hogan Lovells' Asia head Patrick Sherrington told Legal Week. “If we get to the point of separate competition, compliance and data protection regimes, then businesses here are going to be very concerned to see how that affects them.”