China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”)’s recent notice in relation to the Shanghai Mingcha Zhegang Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Huansheng Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Newly Established Joint Venture Case arguably constituted an important milestone for the VIE Structure: It marked the first time that SAMR officially accepted a merger control filing for concentration of operators (an “AML Filing”) where one of the parties had adopted the VIE Structure. Does the acceptance of this AML Filing mean that, after two decades, a Chinese regulator has finally officially recognized the legitimacy of the VIE Structure?
In Part I of this Hong Kong Lawyer article, we explored the history of the VIE Structure. In the second and concluding part of this article, Morrison & Foerster partners Marcia Ellis, Gordon Milner and associate Mark Hu explore the current legal status of the VIE Structure and consider what is likely to happen to this structure in the future.