Foreign-invested partnership registration does not need MOFCOM approval

In the last issue of China Business Law Journal, we noted that the Establishment of Partnership Enterprises in China by Foreign Enterprises and Individuals Administrative Measures, which were due to come into force on 1 March, did not include a requirement for foreign-invested partnership enterprises to seek approval from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Many lawyers we interviewed saw this as a step towards the eventual removal of the usual MOFCOM approval requirement for foreign enterprises (please refer to Do new foreign partnership rules point to a future without MOFCOM?, China Business Law Journal, February 2010).

In February, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) issued the Administration of Foreign Partnership Enterprises Administrative Measures, confirming that the establishment of a foreign partnership enterprise in China does not need MOFCOM approval. Instead, only registration with a local Administration for Industry and Commerce is required.

The new registration measures require, among other things, registration of the identity of the managing partner, the scope of business of the partnership, the names and addresses of the partners and the manner in which liability is to be borne. If there is an agreed term of duration of the partnership, such term must also be registered.