Recent news reports are claiming that Mercator is expected to sell its chains of sporting goods stores, Intersport and Modiana, by the end of July. This kind of activity would be the latest in a longer line of investments that Mercator has been selling off, including Pekarna Grosuplje and Mercator-Embi, all of it as means of shifting the corporate focus to the company's main activity – trade ...
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?) ...
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its reasons today in Krayzel Corp. v. Equitable Trust Co., 2016 SCC 18, adding some clarification to a mortgage lender’s right to protect itself from the increased commercial risk associated with a defaulting mortgagor through the use of interest rates, given s. 8 of the Interest Act which reads as follows: "No fine, etc ...
The Minister of Transportation has issued Minister of Transportation Regulation No. PM 32 of 2016 on the Organization of Non-Fixed-Route Public-Transportation Services. This regulation addresses the ongoing dispute between the existing transportation companies and application-based transportation services ...
The Montenegrin Ministry of Transport has recently been in the news as it provided an overview of investments that it has made over the past ten years in the country's road infrastructure – investments that have totalled at EUR 300 million through renovation, modernisation, and construction processes throughout the country ...
There has been an exciting development in the entertainment industry, as the Czech company"Sebre a.s."bought a 20% stake in Serbian "Avala film" – an iconic studio hailing from the golden age of Yugoslavian film ...
There is a growing trend of initial public offerings of debt in Israel by U.S. (and Canadian) real estate companies with income-producing real estate and the listing of the bonds for trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. During 2014 and 2015, approximately 15 such real estate companies completed public debt offerings in Israel, the large majority of which were initial public offerings, raising approximately NIS 8 billion in total (equivalent to approximately US$2 billion) during such period ...
Recent news reports show that IKEA, the world famous Swedish multinational retailer, is getting ready to invest EUR 88 million in the construction of a Designer Outlet complex in Croatia. The company, whose Croatian division opened on the outskirts of Zagreb in August 2014 and has since been welcoming over 1.5 million customers on an annual basis, has decided to embark on such an endeavour in order to tap into a yet unseen mix of outlet retail and leisure entertainment in the region ...
Growth of the real estate industry in Panama in recent years is noticeable, not just locally but at a regional level as well. Iconic architectural works such as the Trump Tower, F&F Tower (popularly called the “Screw”) among others, attracts positive criticism from different actors in the business and associations in the construction, development and promotion of the real estate business. In part, real estate growth in Panama is due to the ease in the execution of real estate transactions ...
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 ...
Karanović & Nikolić Senior Associate, Ana Luković, visited the recently held 8thInternational Bar Association's (IBA) Real Estate Conference in Copenhagen. As was the case during the previous editions of the conference, it provided a platform for around 150 attendees – hailing from all across the contemporary business spectrum – to communicate and exchange their views on various topics related to the field of real estate law ...
We are pleased to announce that Karanović & Nikolić has advised Jet Airways (India) Limited, together with Dentons UKMEA LLP, in an aircraft leasing transaction that will enable the long-haul trans-Atlantic route between Serbia and the United States (Belgrade-New York) to be restored ...
According to recent reports, it seems to be that an exciting update in the aviation world might be waiting around the corner. More precisely, it has been circulated in the media that the global giant and world's fastest growing airline, Turkish Airlines, is contemplating the acquisition of Croatia's national carrier – Croatia Airlines ...
The regulation governing contracts of public bodiesleaps into the digital age. The amendments, passed on April 13, 2016, and coming into force June 1, 2016, aim to clarify the rules pertaining to the results evaluation.1Five key changesTenders in electronic form are mandatory if so required in the tender documents ?> change of computer systems will be needed to ensure the integrity of the signatures and tenders ...
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 ...
On May 12th, Governor Snyder issued Executive Directive No. 2016-1 ("ED 2016-1"), which seeks to improve infrastructure in the State by utilizing the Michigan Department of Transportation ("MDOT") in multiple ways. ED 2016-1 requires MDOT to work with a number of agencies, including coordinating with: - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to identify and address major infrastructure projects where inadequate facilities could cause threats to water or wastewater services ...
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 ...
A lifelong right to live in a house owned by someone else is referred to as a right to habitation. Once this right is registered in the Deeds Office, it is enforceable against everyone, including the registered owner of the immovable property (“property”).This position was confirmed in the recent Supreme Court of Appeal case of Hendriks v Hendriks and Others (case no ...
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 ...
With the advent of the Construction Regulations, 2014 (the “regulations”), which are binding in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (“OHASA”), additional duties are now placed on the “client” that did not exist under the previous regulatory regime. For example, the client now assumes the duty to prepare a baseline risk assessment for a construction work project and, depending on the factual circumstances, to apply for a construction work permit ...
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 ...
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 ...
