When emerging economies draft competition law and begin to enforce it, they usually draw on the EU and US competition law systems. However, significant country-specific legal and practical variations tend to arise quickly, making it imperative for international business lawyers to acquire more than a passing knowledge of competition legislation and relevant case law in these countries. Now for the first time a thoroughly researched book provides an in-depth empirical analysis of the legal problems raised for competition, and especially for merger control and its enforcement, in emerging economies, using a case study approach in the Brazilian and Argentinean contexts to reveal paradigmatic trends. Brazil and Argentina are chosen not only because they are among the major trading jurisdictions in the developing world, but also because they have each established a track record of over a decade in formulating and enforcing a system of merger control. The author describes and analyses all Brazilian and Argentinean legislation in the field of competition law, as well as the main merger decisions adopted by the competition authorities and the judgements held by the courts of these countries. The book thoroughly covers the system of competition law currently enforced in each country, as well as the main innovations of proposed new competition law currently pending in Brazil. In addition, the author draws on field interviews with competition lawyers and officers of competition authorities conducted between April and July 2008 in Buenos Aires, Brasilia, and São Paulo. The analysis considers such issues as the following: y impact of M & As on the level of competition in the markets of developing countries; y enforcement of competition law and the judiciary; y criteria for notification of economic concentrations; y application of econometric tests to define the relevant market and the degree of market concentration.

This open access book provides answers to key open questions concerning competition policy in emerging economies, with a focus on South Eastern Europe. The contributions address two major issues. One is the design of competition policy and the national competition authorities that enforce it, including the topics of competition advocacy and state aid control; the other is the use of economic methods in competition law enforcement, especially in the cases of relevant market definition and merger control. Many lessons learned in the countries of South Eastern Europe can be applied to the emerging markets of other regions. As such, the findings presented here will be highly relevant for officials and staff at national competition authorities, advisers to legislators shaping national competition policy, competition law professionals, and university students alike.

"The proliferation of merger control laws, in the absence of a mechanism to coordinate the transnational merger review, places an unnecessary burden on merging parties, and runs the risk of divergent outcomes, which at times cause friction among nation-states." --

On 1 August 2008 the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law entered into force, introducing a comprehensive framework for competition law to the Chinese market. One set of the new rules pertains to merger control. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was nominated as the authority responsible for enforcing merger control in China and has been actively doing so ever since. Recent years have established China as one of the most important merger filing jurisdictions for cross-border mergers alongside the EU and USA. This work evaluates the Chinese merger control law regime and MOFCOM’s decision-making practice after more than five years of application. In particular, it assesses which policy goals (competition policy goals or industrial policy considerations) prevail in the written law and its application and provides suggestions for a further improvement of the law – with the aim to develop a transparent merger control regime that promotes long-term economic growth in China.

The Merger Control Review, edited by Ilene Knable Gotts of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, provides an overview of the process in 38 jurisdictions, as well as a discussion of recent decisions, strategic considerations and likely upcoming developments in Merger Control. Given the ability of most competition agencies with pre-merger notification laws to delay, and even block, a transaction, it is imperative to take each jurisdiction - small or large, new or mature - seriously. It is, therefore, imperative that counsel for such a transaction develops a comprehensive plan prior to, or immediately upon, execution of an agreement concerning where and when to file notification with competition authorities regarding such a transaction. The intended readership of this book comprises both in-house and outside counsel who may be involved in the competition review of cross-border transactions. In our endeavour to keep our readers well informed, we have expanded the jurisdictions covered by this book to include the newer regimes as well with several special chapters covering US, EU and Chinese Merger Control in Media and Pharmaceutical sectors. Contributors include: Susan Ning, King & Wood Mallesons; James Langenfeld, Navigant; Goenenc Guerkaynak, ELIG; Mr Jordan Ellison, Slaughter and May."e;Each country section provides an informative overview of recent and expected enforcement trends... A very useful book!"e; - Jean-Yves Art, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft, Belgium