Business · Companies · 1 day ago
China’s fast-track merger reviews now average 18.6 days
China’s market regulator says it now takes an average of 18.6 days to review mergers handled through its fast-track process.
The process is for deals considered unlikely to raise competition concerns.
It began in 2014, when reviews took an average of 39.9 days.
This year, 88.8% of mergers approved without conditions went through the fast-track process, the regulator said.
It also requires less information from companies than the standard process, reducing the work involved in filing.
Faster reviews can lower the cost of mergers while allowing regulators to focus more attention on cases that may affect competition.
The regulator said Liaoning, Zhejiang and Sichuan have joined the provincial authorities reviewing cases on its behalf, and that this is expected to improve review capacity.
China’s simple merger reviews now take an average of 18.6 days, down from 39.9 days in 2014.
The State Administration for Market Regulation said the faster process reduces the administrative costs of corporate investment and mergers.
The simplified process directs cases considered unlikely to raise competition concerns to a faster review channel.
Simple cases accounted for 88.8% of all merger cases approved without conditions this year, compared with 49.2% in 2014.
Provincial regulators handled 65.8% of simple-case reviews assigned to them through September this year.
- Who
- China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, including its Anti-Monopoly Bureau.
- What
- The authority said average review time for simple merger cases fell to 18.6 days.
- When
- The figures were announced on October 10, 2026. The average is for this year so far.
- Where
- China.
- Why
- The simplified process aims to speed up cases unlikely to raise competition concerns and focus administrative resources on key cases.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
the average review time for simple cases has fallen from 39.9 days in 2014 to 18.6 days so far this year
China established the simple merger-case review system, with an average review time of 39.9 days.
The regulator began publishing lists of merger cases approved without conditions weekly, rather than quarterly.
The regulator began assigning simple-case reviews to provincial market regulators.
The regulator further reduced the information required in simple-case applications to 38 items.
The regulator added a search function for simple-case notices to its antitrust business system.
Provincial regulators handled 65.8% of the simple-case reviews assigned to them.
- Average review time
- 18.6 days this year, down from 39.9 days in 2014
- Simple cases’ share of unconditional approvals
- 88.8% this year, up from 49.2% in 2014
- Application information items
- 38 for simple cases after changes in 2024
- Provincial regulators’ share of assigned reviews
- 65.8% through September this year
- Simple-case application cost
- One company estimated it was more than 50% lower than for non-simple cases
Sources
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