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?) ...
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 ...
Today, Wednesday, June 1st, the Framework Law for the Management of Waste, Extended Liability of the Producer and Promotion of Recycling No. 20,920 (the “Law”) was published.PurposeThe Law seeks to reduce the generation of waste and encourage its reuse, recycling and other types of recovery ...
Today, Wednesday, June 1st, the Framework Law for the Management of Waste, Extended Liability of the Producer and Promotion of Recycling No. 20,920 (the “Law”) was published.PurposeThe Law seeks to reduce the generation of waste and encourage its reuse, recycling and other types of recovery ...
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 ...
The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (the Act) was signed into law on 10 December 2015. The Act comprises of a framework designed to achieve a low carbon, climate resilient, and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050. The Act provides for two statutory plans which will guide policy in relation to greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change adaption. The plans are: 1) National Mitigation Plan; and 2) National Adaption Framework (NAF) ...
On May 12th, EPA issued two rules that will significantly impact the oil and gas industry nationally. The first rule, an outgrowth of the President’s Climate Action Plan, establishes new source performance standards (“NSPS”) to curb emissions of methane, as well as volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”), from new natural gas and oil well sites and from new natural gas production gathering and boosting stations, processing plants, and transmission compressor stations ...
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 ...
Responding to a Supreme Court mandate, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) yesterday published a final supplemental finding that it is necessary and appropriate to regulate hazardous air pollutants emitted from coal- and oil-fired power plants under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. 81 Fed. Reg. 24,420.Read the full alert ...
Entities that file disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) should be aware of recent actions by regulators and shareholders questioning the sufficiency of opinion statements made in environmental-related disclosures. Most recently, on March 31, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with Navistar International Corp ...
2015 was a record year in the Hungarian M&A market. Both in terms of value and number of transactions, 2015 was the best year since 2008, with approximately 160 closed transactions and an aggregate value of approximately EUR 2 billion. Although the acceleration follows global trends, the Hungarian market has a few specifics that will further enhance a growing M&A market in 2016 as well ...
It won’t be long before Malaysia becomes a party to the Madrid Protocol with strong indicationspointing towards Malaysia acceding to this treaty by 2013. The Madrid Protocol system, which is a global trademark registration system is administered centrally by the International Bureau of the WorldIntellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), located in Geneva, Switzerland ...
ANGOLA: Budget Law 2016 published Law No. 28/15 (“Budget Law 2016”), which had been adopted on 31 December 2015, was published on 30 January 2016 and applies with effect from 1 January 2016. The Budget Law 2016 provides for: · the introduction of a Special Contribution on Banking Operations, to be levied at the rate of 0.1% on all financial operations by banking and non-banking financial institutions governed by the Financial Institutions Framework Law (Law 12/15 of 27 June 2015) ...
The High Court has delivered judgment in the case of Minch v The Commissioner of Environmental Information (CEI) (16 February 2016) concerning the scope of access to environmental information ...
The United States has announced that it has signed with Cuba a new agreement covering air services between the two countries. The new agreement, which replaces a suspended accord dating back to the 1950s, authorizes up to 110 daily round trip scheduled flights between the two countries by airlines of each respective country. The agreement permits twenty (20) scheduled non-stop flights between the U.S ...
On January 27, 2016, the Obama Administration took the latest in its continuing steps to ease restrictions on trade and travel between the United States and Cuba. Amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”) administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) will authorize additional U.S ...
Special Economic Zones (“SEZs”) are geographically designated areas within a country that are set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems to promote industrial development. An SEZ is meant to be an economic development tool to promote rapid economic growth by using various support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investments and technology ...
The European Court of Justice ruled last October that the data sharing framework between the EU and US, referred to as Safe Harbor, is no longer valid. On 2 February 2016, the EU and US authorities agreed in principle on a 'new' arrangement, known as the 'EU-US Privacy Shield', which is intended to replace 'Safe Harbor' ...
ANGOLA: Budget Law 2016 adopted by National Assembly The Angolan National Assembly adopted the final version of Budget Law 2016 on 11 December 2015, following its approval of the Program of Economic Diversification on 7 December 2015. The Program includes the introduction of the Special Contribution on Banking Transactions (“SCBT”) and the Special Contribution levied on transfers for the payment of technical assistance or management fees. The SCBT is to be levied at a rate of 0 ...
