The recent release of a new set of rules describing how Chinese investigators must proceed when dealing with anti-monopoly practices will open target firms to “dawn raids”, according to an international law firm.

Steve Yu, Shanghai-based partner for Eversheds, wrote in a recent report that the release of the “Procedural Rules on Investigation and Sanctions by the Administration for Industry and Commerce on Monopoly Agreements and Abuse of Market Dominance” on June 5 will make on-site investigations and substantial fines for anti-trust activities in China a “real possibility”.

China published its anti-monopoly law in August last year, but because there has been a delay in releasing the procedural investigation rules, none of the companies which have been accused of anti-trust practices in China have been investigated yet, Mr Yu said.

But with the publication of the procedural rules, Chinese businesses could soon see the first wave of anti-monopoly investigations, he added.

Under the new rules, which take effect from the beginning of July, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and provincial level administrations will be empowered to enter premises of businesses which are suspected of engaging in monopolistic business practices.

Officials will be authorised to question senior corporate executives, read, make copies of, or seize relevant paper and electronic documents, as well as examine the company’s bank accounts.

US president Barrack Obama has unveil his long-awaited blueprint for an overhaul of the financial services sector.

In a speech given at the White House, the president described the reforms as a sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory framework not seen since the Great Depression, according to Reuters news agency.

Among the measures proposed by the administration include vesting the US Federal Reserve with new powers to monitor systemic risk in the economy, to prevent events such as the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers or the bailout of insurance firm American International Group.

Banking regulation will be streamlined with the creation of a new National Bank Supervisor replacing both the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. A new Consumer Financial Protection Agency will oversee products from mortgages to credit cards, and have the power to ban unfair terms and practices, punish companies for violations, and set standards for banks and other lenders.

A Financial Services Oversight Council, chaired by the Treasury Department, will also be created with the aim of filling the regulatory gaps in the system and identifying the important firms which needs to be regulated by the Fed. It will compose of the Treasury Secretary, as well as the directors of the newly created National Bank Supervisor and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Banks and other financial institutions will be required to boost their capital reserves. Still other measures will change how firms which deal with asset-backed securities and over-the-counter derivatives are regulated.

Original Article: [link] and [link]