On The Legal Issues Concerning Enterprise Concentration

Faced with fierce market competition, enterprises usually achieve their goal of expanding production capacity by merger and taking-over, which is not only the result of market competition, but also a motivation for competition. The process of competition also follows the natural law of"the survival of the fittest".Although the result of enterprise-concentration is similar to that of competition, to decrease the number of market subjects, what makes it different is that the enterprise-concentration has more subjectivity and manipulation, which is prone to monopoly especially in those areas where the access to the market is relatively difficult. The enactment of the Anti-monopoly Act of the People's Republic of China in 2008 has played an important role in regulating market competition order. However, with regard to the rejection of taking-over of Huiyuan Co. by Coca-Cola Co., the first case thereafter of its kind, lawyers have never stopped in their discussion over the defects of the law behind the case. The decision reflects the shortcomings of relevant laws over the anti-monopoly to be improved and the need to drawing on the advanced experience from outside.The purpose of this paper is to study the legal system of enterprise concentration and to make improvements through some controversy based on the case. I wish that anti-monopoly law can play a better role, and make contribution to the socialist economic construction.This article was divided into five parts besides the introduction the conclusionThe first part introduced the case,dispute and conception from the case . The bulletin of Department of Commerce provided much material for writing. In this section, the legal system of enterprise concentration was expounded through analyzing the existing concentration censorship,the definition of relevant market,diversification of review subject and national brand protection. It played a connecting role between the preceding and the conclusion.The second part evaluated concentration censorship from two sides. The root reasons of raising dispute from the case lies in the relevant legal system having certain defects and weakness. The purpose of this section is to come up with the necessary of improvement.The third part mainly expounds how to define the relevant market. It is not only an inevitable topic about enterprise-concentration, but also is the premise of studying market concentration. However, there scarcely has definite criterion for us to obey. Therefore, suggest that legislators should consider industry characteristics and technological factors fully based on the worthy experience form Occident, and improve the relevant market law constantly.The fourth part aims to establish graded system of review about concentration. This is the suggestion from the program mechanism of concentration. Law should give provincial people's government jurisdiction in its area, and form the network which supervises regional monopoly. This section introduced examination standard of enterprise-concentration in the U.S. and illustrates the significance of graded system, and hope to get legislation adopted.The fifth part introduced the relationship between the protection of national brand and anti-monopoly which is the subject of much debate. I hold a positive attitude towards it, and hope the protection of national brand to be value goal of anti-monopoly in the future.