China's Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) last month waved through InBev's $52bn acquisition of Anheuser-Busch on the grounds that it would not adversely affect competition in the domestic beer market. It is the first publication of a merger decision since beefed-up anti-monopoly laws took effect in August.

However, in a single-page ruling, Mofcom also imposed a number of unanticipated restrictions that will prevent InBev acquiring further interests in four key players in the Chinese beer market.

Lawyers said that, by imposing future conditions on a deal that did not harm competition, Mofcom had broken new ground in international antitrust decision-making. This is likely to alter the approach of many overseas companies towards mergers and acquisitions in China, they believe.