MOFCOM, the ministry with primary responsibility for foreign investment in China, has issued a new draft law that rewrites China’s regime for foreign investment in what will be the most significant change to the way MNCs structure their businesses in China since the early 2000s.

The draft law will for the first time treat most foreign investors in the same way as domestic Chinese companies, but will also close a loophole that has allowed many businesses, including Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent, to obtain foreign investment that would otherwise be off-limits by using a ‘VIE’ indirect control structure.

The draft law will be open for public comment until February 17.

Read the full story on Practical Law China.