On January 15, 2015, AllBright partner Ted Wu, at the invitation of GCA Savvian, delivered a lecture on the enforcement of China’s Anti-monopoly Law to the company’s nearly 100 member client base in Tokyo, Japan. GCA Savvian’s clients in Osaka also heard the lecture through a live video feed.

GCA Savvian is a premier global investment bank serving growth companies through a range of services that include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, private funds and restructuring advisory services. The firm went public in Tokyo in 2006 and had a focus on the China market by accomplishing a number of successful transactions.

China has drummed up its anti-trust campaign in recent years. The National Development and Reform Commission’s 1.235 billion RMB fine on 12 Japanese auto parts manufacturers last August has attracted huge attention from Japanese companies. Some have interpreted the fine as China’s special treatment of Japanese companies. Others even related it to Sino-Japanese political tension. Most of GCA Savvian’s clients are public companies or have investments in or trade with China. They are highly concerned of such anti-trust moves in China.

Mr. Wu made an analysis of the forms and types of the latest antitrust cases in China and gave advice on compliance steps accordingly. He eliminated the audience’s concerns of China’s double standard or selective enforcement on Japanese companies by quoting a number of cases.

In the discussion session, AllBright partner Ms. Theresa Qiu, who is qualified as a Japan-based lawyer handling foreign law matters, Mr. Wu and GCA Savvian’s senior executives held an in-depth and lively talk on the impact of China’s AML on corporate mergers and acquisitions and concentrations of undertakings. They also answered questions from the audience.

GCA Savvian invites external experts to deliver lectures on latest issues and hot topics to its member clients each month. The firm has held 111 lectures so far. This was the first time for a Chinese lawyer to be invited to give a lecture.