Recent news reports are informing us that an Anglo-Chinese consortium, consisting of British company Scarborough Group International and the Chinese owned China National Electric (CNEEC) company, has signed a contract to build a thermal power plant in Loznica, in the amount of EUR 230 million. The consortium received additional financial support from the China Development Bank, while the Chinese insurance company Sinosure also showed interest in participating in the project ...
With more than 6-months of delay, the Government of the Republic of Serbia finally adopted the following package of decrees setting out the new incentive scheme for green energy:Decree on the Power Purchase Agreement, ("PPA Decree");Decree on incentive measures for the production of electric energy from renewable energy sources and from high-efficiency cogeneration of electric energy and thermal energy (" View More
Last week, Governor Snyder wrote Michigan's congressional delegation to stress the importance of fully funding upgrades to the Soo Locks. Snyder urged Congress to replace the Davis and Sabin Locks with a single, larger lock that would provide redundancy should the Poe Lock fail. The Poe Lock is currently the only lock capable of handling the 1,000-foot freighters used to transport raw materials like iron ore ...
After the conclusion of the public consultations conducted by the Philippine Competition Commission ("PCC") on May 24, 2016 and the lapse of the period for the submission of comments and suggested revisions to the draft implementing rules and regulations issued on May 10, 2016, the PCC has published the final implementing rules and regulations (the "Rules") of the Philippine Competition Act ("PCA") last June 3, 2016. The Rules took effect on June 18, 2016 ...
FTAs between Colombia and Korea and between Colombia and Costa Rica will soon enter into force. The FTA between Colombia and Korea will enter into force on July 15. This is Colombia’s first FTA with an Asian country. Through this FTA, Colombia aims to strengthen trade relations with one of the most dynamic regions of the world as well as to attract investment.This FTA is of great importance for the Colombian agricultural sectors, as Korea is a major importer of these goods ...
Martine Samuelian and Virginia Barat, JEANTETThis article is supplementing the May 2016 issue of the Lavery Capital newsletter, number 9, which discusses the potential extension of the European passport regime (the ?Passport?) ? established under EU Directive no. 2011/61/EU (the ?Directive?) ? to Canadian investment fund managers (?Canadian managers?) ...
One of the liveliest parts of the recently held panel discussion organised by the Association for Sustainable Development and the Youth Forum of the European Movement, was revolving around Serbia's obligation to reach 27% of its total consumption of energy to be coming from renewable energy sources (RES) by year 2020 ...
Recent “gun jumping” rulings across Europe have included fines on investors and serve as reminders that exchange of information between two competitors during an M&A negotiation has to be treated with caution.In fact, if the focus in an M&A deal is usually on merger control clearances, the path towards the completion of the operation has also to be monitored very closely, in the sense that the companies involved should remain independent competitors until the deal is effectively closed ...
On March 1st, 2016, Supreme Decree N° 62 of the Ministry of Economy, introduced in 2006 (hereinafter, the “Decree 62”), that regulates capacity transfers among power generation companies entered into force, modifying the methodology used to calculate transfers.IntroductionThe Chilean electric system remunerates power generation companies for two products: energy and capacity ...
The April 2016 issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) included an international briefing article entitled “New foreign investment rules.” The article was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Marietta A. Tibayan.Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
Tensions in the Middle East have continued into 2016 as conflicts among global powers and regional powers play out in the region. But 2016 is also the year of hope – the year when peace may begin in Syria and Yemen. This is also the year that the UAE has appointed a Minister of Happiness, and even more relevantly, a Minister of Tolerance ...
ExportWise magazine has published the “First 5 Calls” series on the Philippines. Published by Export Development Canada (EDC) for Canadian exporters and investors, ExportWise’s “First 5 Calls” series seeks to provide practical, on-the-ground advice from five market experts who each address a particular aspect of doing business in a certain country, such as legal and regulatory, market entry and distribution, customs, human resources, etc.SyCipLaw partner Hiyasmin H ...
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSPROMULGATION OF THE LAW ON TRADE UNIONS, Royal Kram № NS/RKM/1516/007, dated 17 May 2016The Law on Trade Unions is intended to: (a) provide rights and freedom for enterprises, establishments and persons governed by the provisions of the 1997 Labour Law and persons serving in air and maritime transportation and (b) sets out the organization and functioning of professional organizations of employees and employers ...
The Lagos Tax Appeal Tribunal (“TAT”) on 12 February 2016 ruled in favour of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (“FIRS”) in its case with Vodacom Business Nigeria Limited (“Vodacom”) that satellite-network bandwidth capacities provided to Vodacom outside Nigeria by New Skies Satellites (“NSS”), a Dutch incorporated company, are liable to value added tax (“VAT”) in Nigeria ...
BOTSWANA: Protocol to treaty between Botswana and Sweden enters into force The amending protocol to the Botswana/Sweden Income Tax Treaty (1992), which was signed on 20 February 2013, entered into force on 1 December 2015. The protocol generally applies from 1 December 2015 for the provisions on exchange of information and from 1 January 2016 for the remaining provisions ...
At the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (“FOCAC”) summit held in Johannesburg in December 2015, the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, announced that China intends to invest US$60-billion in Africa over the next three years. This undoubtedly reaffirms the commitment by China and Africa to bilateral cooperation, thereby furthering China’s “One Belt, One Road” foreign policy ...
TheSarajevo Business Forum2016(SBF) was, among hosting a number of lectures and discussions, a platform for one of the largest post-war investments in the energy sector in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) ...
On April 29, 2016, the National Center for Energy Control (“CENACE”) announced the second auction for long-term supply and purchase contracts to satisfy the need of basic service suppliers (for the time being, the Federal Electricity Commission, perhaps better known for its acronym, “CFE”), for power, capacity, and clean energy certificates. The standard commercial operation date of the projects awarded under the auction is scheduled for January 1, 2019 ...
The European Commission has presented an Action Plan setting out ways to reboot the current EU VAT system to make it simpler, more fraud-proof and business-friendly. The current VAT rules urgently need to be updated so they can better support the Single Market, facilitate cross-border trade and keep pace with today's digital and mobile economy ...
On May 2, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court issued two anticipated opinions that are important to the oil and gas industry in Colorado, and could be precedent for similar efforts pending in a number of states where local governmental entities are trying to rein in fracking ...
The Mexican Secretary of Energy (“SENER”) has received 62 applications from 32 companies during the first 15 days of April 2016. As of April 25, it has granted 16 permits for the importation of gasoline and 26 permits for the importation of diesel. Read the full alert ...
Pemex is considering offering to the private sector up to six of its refineries to obtain some liquidity for its financial restructuring. As announced by Pemex’s CEO, José Antonio González Anaya, estimated individual transaction values may range from US$500 million to US$1.5 billion per refinery. The six refineries are currently operating at a collective, estimated annual loss of MX$100 billion (approximately US$5.8 billion) ...
The effects of the precipitous decline in oil and gas prices after mid-2014 are well chronicled, but are still unfolding. Although oil prices have risen recently, the current price environment continues to adversely affect a broad range of energy-industry and related-industry businesses, including exploration and production, service and supply, and midstream companies, as well as those that directly or indirectly support or contract with those businesses ...
It is slowly starting to feel like distant history when civilisation's efforts to satisfy the most fundamental need for energy were focused mainly on utilising non-renewable sources. Fossil fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal have been the backbone of the industrial age's rapid development, effectively helping bring on the contemporary era of existence we are witnesses of ...
