Features & Analyses

China's new Company Law increased possibilities for the adoption of a “preferred stock” structure. Greg L Pickrell and Judy J Deng of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman explore the practicality of incorporating the two-class stock structure within China's corporate law doctrines and interplay with other relevant segments of laws.

Companies had been expecting clarification from China's Implementing Regulations for its Employment Contract Law in September. But many of the more ambitious provisions remain unsolved.

Companies had been expecting clarification from China's Implementing Regulations for its Employment Contract Law in September. But many of the more ambitious provisions remain unsolved.

Sexual harassment in the workplace in the PRC is more common than some would think. Women working in the PRC gained significant additional rights in 2005 when the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amended (the 2005 Amendment) the Law for the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests of the PRC1 (Women's Protection Law) to prohibit sexual harassment against women for the first time Lesli Ligorner from Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker discusses how the 2005 Amendment has failed to protect women from sexual harassment.

Guangdong is the first province to have issued a guiding opinion on the labour laws. The opinion attempts to clarify some of the ambiguities in the PRC Employment Contract Law, which took effect in January this year. But the issuance of the rules has caused considerable controversy, with some arguing the Guangdong authorities do not have the right to issue guiding opinions and that some its contents are, as a result, against the national law.

By Jianjun Ma of Jun He Law OfficesOn May 14 2007 when both employers and employees in mainland China were keeping their eyes on the review of and voting…

The Anti-monopoly Law (AML), which came into force on August 1, 2008, introduces a new legal regime of merger control. Alexandre Vincent and Elaine Zhu from CMS argue the implementation of the notifiable concentrations should be suspended until clearance by MOFCOM.

In 1979, China had only 212 lawyers and 79 law firms, since 1994 the number of lawyers has increased by 10,000 per year, meaning there are approximately 140,000 lawyers in China and 10,000 law firms. In light of such rapid development, the issue of how to regulate the legal profession has become a serious one. By Changchun Yuan and Hongchuan Liu, Partners of Broad & Bright.

China's Securities Regulatory Commission has issued measures aimed at regulating the financial consultants who provide advice to listed companies in China. Although it is seen as a step in the right direction, by bringing China more into line with the world's mature capital market environments, for many the measures do not provide a level playing field for M&A activity in China.