China's M&A watchdog halves time taken to approve deals

HONG KONG: China's M&A watchdog is getting much faster at approving both domestic and foreign deals, cutting legal costs for companies and marking a shift in the outlook of a regulator that has been a thorn in the side of bankers since its creation.

While the Ministry of Commerce's anti-monopoly bureau has blocked only two deals since its inception in 2008, the entity known as MOFCOM has attracted international criticism from merger and acquisition lawyers and bankers.