"WHAT BELT AND ROAD SNUB MEANS FOR SINGAPORE’S TIES WITH CHINA" Thus the headline from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on 18 May 2017.China had concluded its Belt and Road Forum, to which 29 other heads of government were invited. Only 3 from 10-member ASEAN were excluded: Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. Even smaller nations, with less-established diplomatic ties to Beijing, sent their heads of government ...
It seems absurd that South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) should be called on to decide what the word “between” means. But that’s exactly what happened in the recent patent case of Orica Mining Services v Elbroc Mining Products. In the process, the SCA very clearly opted for a purposive interpretation of patent claims. The two parties involved, Orica and Elbroc, supply goods to the mining industry ...
The turmoil within the Croatian retail company Agrokor, which owns Mercator, the largest Slovenian retailer, caused a significant stir in the Slovenian public, with the suppliers and especially in politics ...
Once the new Commercial Companies Law was enacted as Federal Law No. 2 it gave existing companies time to achieve compliance with its terms. Article 374 provides that a further one-year extension could be granted by Resolution of the Cabinet, and such an extension was in fact granted. Article 374 also provides that a company that fails to achieve compliance shall be deemed dissolved ...
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, We would like to inform you that the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the "Prosecutor General Office") has prepared a number of amendments and suggestions in the field of counteracting corruption offences. Suggestions have been prepared pursuant to the instruction given by the Presidium of the Presidential Council for countering corruption ...
ANGOLA: Budget Law, 2017 details publishedOn 10 February 2017, the provisions of Budget Law, 2017, enacted on 31 December 2016, were published. In terms of the Budget Law, 2017 the 10% withholding tax on technical services and management fees paid to non-residents for the provision of foreign technical assistance or management services (Contribuição Especial sobre as Operações Cambiais de Invisíveis Correntes), which was introduced by Law No ...
In the 2017 South African Budget Review, specific statements were made from a tax and exchange control perspective in relation to fund managers. We briefly consider below whether these statements constitute a relaxation of the exchange control restrictions applicable to South African residents, and the taxes to be considered ...
As part of the implementation of the Mexican Energy Reform of 2013, several new regulations and administrative guidelines affecting the hydrocarbons and power industries were issued. These are of particular importance to oil and gas producers, power generators and others looking to invest or expand operations in Mexico’s dynamic energy sector. I. Hydrocarbons March 6, 2017.Ayín-Batsil Farmout ...
After 44 years as a member, the United Kingdom (UK) is now officially on the path to leave the European Union (EU). Article 50 On 29 March 2017, the UK triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by notifying the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU. This followed the referendum held in June 2016, where a majority of UK voters opted to leave the EU ...
As published in international media, Brazil is still facing economic problems related, for example, to economic growth rate and unemployment. However, Brazil remains a country where investment opportunities continue to exist. Brazil has the advantage of having a large internal market due to the size of its population and of being well positioned geographically in South America, so the country can be a platform for the export of products to other countries in the region ...
On March 23, 2017, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and natural gas production and storage facilities. The regulations, which focus on methane emissions, represent the most aggressive effort by any U.S. jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from oil and natural gas production ...
A federal court in the District of Columbia has ordered the U.S. EPA to complete its review of air toxics emission standards for 13 source categories by June 30, 2020. Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, EPA must set maximum achievable control technology ("MACT") standards for stationary sources of hazardous air pollutants. The agency must review and, if necessary, revise those standards every eight years. 42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(d)(6), 7412(f)(2) ...
On the eve of the provisional entry into force of the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement, understanding its implications should be a top priority for any company wishing to expand its activities over the course of the next few years. The vote held at the European Parliament in favour of the ratification of the Agreement makes its entry into force imminent ...
In the most recent ruling arising from the now infamous Sabine case (In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp., 547 BR 66 (Bankr. SDNY 2016)), in which New York bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman held in favor of Sabine Oil & Gas Corp ...
On January 1, 2017, AB 1661 went into effect, requiring local agency officials, including board members, to receive sexual harassment prevention training and education. This training requirement is similar to the sexual harassment and prevention training already required for supervisory employees every two (2) years under AB 1825. Local agencies should expand their sexual harassment prevention training programs to include agency officials who are covered under the new law ...
INTRODUCTION: Recently, Spilman's Director of Energy & Transportation Services, Scott Rotruck, interviewed David Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) ...
With 125 days left in 2014, we find ourselves looking at What’s Next for the oil & gas industry in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Plays for the remainder of 2014. It has been an eventful year and with just four months until 2015, we look forward and identify key events and issues that are top of mind. 2014 Events There are a wide range of upcoming events with programs and topics relevant to E&P, midstream, field services and downstream markets ...
Before ultimately answering the questions posed in the title above on a National Energy Plan, in full disclosure it should be noted that I have been employed by and/or have been an investor in oil, natural gas, coal and solar. The same applies for two railroads, CSX and NS, which hauled a lot of the aforementioned products or their supply chain components to market ...
by Allyn G. Turner, as seen in the December 2008 issue of IOGA Newsletter As we head toward 2009, West Virginians will be governed by second-term Governor Joe Manchin and the new administration of President-Elect Barack Obama. In the environmental regulation arena, this means change. West Virginia’s Executive Branch, including the Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), may not be headed for immediate changes ...
Despite the highly publicized announcement that enforcement of the “Pay-or-Play” mandate (which requires businesses to provide health insurance to all full-time employees or face yearly penalties of up to $3,000 per employee) has been delayed until 2015, important considerations remain for businesses and consumers about how they will ultimately be affected by the Affordable Care Act ...
Good news! The murkiness surrounding declarant rights in North Carolina became a little clearer this summer. On July 7, 2014, Governor McCrory signed an amendment to the Planned Community Act addressing the transfer of declarant rights. This article only addresses lender’s rights or liability surrounding declarant rights if that lender were in acquiring ownership of that collateral in the context of foreclosure or “deed in lieu ...
Late yesterday afternoon, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) published on its website what it characterizes as a “rough draft” of its forthcoming emergency[1] rule (the “Draft Rule”), which is 79 pages in length. This Draft Rule comes nine days after the agency’s release of an Interpretive Rule implementing, in part, the new Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”), a summary of which is available here ...
On February 3, 2015, House Bill 2574 (“HB 2574”) was introduced in the West Virginia Legislature. HB 2574 proposes to remedy the unintended consequences to businesses created by the passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”) during the 2014 regular session of the Legislature immediately following the contamination of the Elk River from Freedom Industries, Inc ...
