A company’s need for substantial amounts of capital is intensified when looking to grow quickly, or develop an innovative product that will disrupt the market in a meaningful way. This is true to any company, and is especially true to innovative and disruptive startups, which aim at creating new markets, revolutionizing existing ones and prevailing over traditional market participants ...
Law 50/2020 of 25 August transposed into Portuguese national law Directive (EU) 2017/828 of the European Parliament and the Council of 17 May 2017 as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement. This directive is known as the Shareholder Rights Directive II and it amends the previous Directive 2007/36/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007 ...
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted several significant amendments affecting disclosure requirements under Items 101, 103 and 105 of Regulation S-K and also expanded the definitions of “Accredited Investor” and “Qualified Institutional Buyer” under Rule 501(a) and Rule 144A, respectively. As SEC Chairman, Jay Clayton, announced in the press release, Items 101, 103 and 105 have not undergone significant revisions in over 30 years ...
BUSINESS STABILIZATION AND RESTRUCTURING ACT (STARUG) On 18 September 2020, the German Federal Department of Justice published a first draft bill for the implementation of the EU Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks of 20 June 2019 (the „Draft Bill“) ...
In early September, the Department of Justice issued additional guidance that the Commercial Litigation Branch can consider when settling cases for less than the full amount of the claim based on the defendant’s inability to pay. Under its statutory authority, the Civil Division has the ability to settle claims for less when an entity offers the maximum amount that it is able to pay and the federal government is acting as plaintiff ...
There a number of reasons why Hong Kong banks freeze a customer’s bank account but this article is limited to exploring why Hong Kong banks may be required to do so for money laundering reasons. The money laundering offence in Hong Kong law The offence of “money laundering” is prosecuted in Hong Kong under section 25(1) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 455 (“OSCO”) ...
For the last several months, local and national economies have struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate the downturn, the federal government reduced interest rates to near zero. This reduced rate has created a unique estate planning opportunity for individuals who hold assets they expect will appreciate, who wish to make lifetime gifts to their lineal descendants, and who wish to make such gifts without incurring annual or lifetime gift tax liability ...
By: Joshua M. Robbins, Michael C. Flynn, and Robert S. Gillison The past decade has taught lenders much about regulatory enforcement risk. In the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis and collapse of the housing and related markets, the Department of Justice and other agencies aggressively stepped up investigations of lenders seen as complicit in the misconduct of borrowers and others ...
In the recent case of Re Shum Tung Lam formerly known as Shum Wan Man [2020] HKCFI 1720, the Court of First Instance was asked to clarify the requirements under section 30A(6) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) which governs objections made by creditors or trustees to the automatic discharge of a bankrupt from bankruptcy ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many hospitality professionals and their clients to confront bankruptcy, insolvency, and loan workout issues for the first time since the Great Recession. Chapter 11 presents a host of unique issues for hotels and other hospitality businesses ...
IN BRIEF The current economic decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a surge of debtors in need of bankruptcy protection. Subchapter V to the rescue! Despite some burdens on debtors, the advantages to individuals under Subchapter V will make it substantially easier for individuals to confirm Chapter 11 plans ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted a new amendment that adds additional categories of persons eligible to meet the accredited investor definition, expanding the pool of capital available to the private capital markets. Background Under the Securities Act of 1933 (Act”), offerings for the sale of securities must be registered with the SEC ...
By: Michael Flynn and Melissa Richards Introduction California has enacted a new California Consumer Protection Law (CCFPL), California Financial Code Section 90001 et seq. The CCFPL will convert the Department of Business Oversight (DBO) into a new Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). AB 1864 was sent to the California Governor on September 4, 2020 for signature, and he is expected to sign within thirty (30) days ...
The world continues to come to grips with the daily changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools contemplate opening. Some do, while others do not. Some professional and college sports teams play games to empty stadiums. Some businesses are open, with restrictions, while others are not. Lawsuits are being filed by businesses that think they should be permitted to reopen like their neighbors who already have ...
The DIFC has expanded the scope of the common reporting standards, meaning more people must make filings plus increased fines for non-compliance. With effect from 16 August 2020, DIFC Law 6 of 2020 (the CRS Law Amendment Law) was enacted to amend the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Law, DIFC Law 2 of 2018 (the CRS Law). This enactment follows the issuance of the new CRS Regulations, which came into effect on 30 July 2020 ...
Federal Law No. 4 of 2020 on Guaranteeing Rights Related to Movables (the New Mortgage Law), which came into effect on 1 June 2020, has updated the regime for registering security interests over movable assets in the UAE. The new regime The New Mortgage Law repealed Federal Law No. 20 of 2016 on Mortgaging of Movable Property as Security for Debts (the Old Mortgage Law) ...
INTRODUCTION Information Communication Technology (ICT) has, without a doubt, greatly impacted virtually every industry, and the communications industry is no exception. Services such as bulk short message service (SMS), online games, data services, telemarketing, text messages and media messages, all of which are often referred to as Value Added Services (“VAS”), now constitute a part of our daily lives ...
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently released its consultation conclusions on the proposed enhancements to the open-ended fund companies (OFC) regime. Highlights include: Removal of investment restrictions for private OFCs; Expansion of entities eligible to act as custodian of private OFCs; and Confirmation of the SFC’s intention to provide for a statutory mechanism to re-domicile overseas corporate funds to Hong Kong as OFCs ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an order titled “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19” (“Order”) forbidding evictions of residential tenants who do not exceed certain income levels (generally $99,000 for an individual), are unable to make full rental payments due to substantial loss of income, loss of job, or extraordinary medical expense, and have exhausted all available governmental sources o
Key Points New California law prohibits residential evictions based on the non-payment of rent and other fees due between Mar. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021, if failure to pay is due to COVID-19 related distress. California courts may not issue summonses in any residential unlawful detainer actions based on non-payment until Oct. 5, 2020. New Order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halts evictions for tenants who meet specific requirements through Dec. 31, 2020 ...
As the world begins to adjust to the short and long-term impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies are seeking ways to preserve cash on their balance sheets while simultaneously raising funds to ensure a continuation of operations. One option to consider is using the company’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio as collateral for funding ...
Bursa Malaysia seeks Feedback on Proposed Reduction in Public Spread On 23 July 2020 Bursa Malaysia Berhad ("Bursa") released Consultation Paper No. 2/2020 Proposed Amendments to the Main Market and ACE Market Listing Requirements in relation to Public Security Holdings Spread ("Consultation Paper") ...
Law 58/2020 came into force on 1 September 2020 and it implements into Portuguese law: Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing, commonly known as the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive; and Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal l
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Shepherd and Wedderburn private client team has been hard at work helping clients update their Wills and Powers of Attorney. While we all hope that the worst of this global pandemic is now behind us, recent weeks have brought various localised lockdowns and the expectation of a potential second wave, which may well coincide with the annual flu season ...
