On July 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") issued the Announcement on Authorizing the Conducting of Anti-monopoly Review of Some Cases of Concentration of Undertakings on a Pilot Basis (the "Announcement"). 

Under the Announcement, the SAMR intends to authorize market regulatory authorities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Shaanxi to carry out anti-monopoly review of some cases in which the simplified procedures for concentration of undertakings apply, on a pilot basis, from August 1, 2022 and on. The Announcement clarifies that, during the pilot period, the SAMR will authorize the pilot provincial market regulators to conduct review of some simple cases, and it will accept the prior notifications of concentration of undertakings in a uniform manner and make review decisions based on the review opinions of the pilot provincial market regulators. The pilot provincial market regulators shall, in accordance with the uniform rules of the SAMR for the concentration of undertakings, conduct review of materials and case-filing review, and complete the reviews within the specified time limit, and then submit the review reports and review recommendations to the SAMR. After the SAMR makes the review decisions, the pilot provincial market regulators will deliver such decisions to the applicants. The pilot period ends on July 31, 2025.

(Source: China State Administration for Market Regulation)