According to the Institute for Family Business, over five million family businesses in the UK generate more than a third of UK GDP. In 2018, the family business sector paid £196 billion in tax (over a quarter of the Government's total revenue) and employed 14 million people in the UK (50% of private sector employment) ...
The UK Government has published the National Security and Investment Bill – a proposed law that will introduce a screening process for certain acquisitions and investments and which is expected to come into force as early as April 2021. The National Security and Investment Bill has now had its second reading and is expected to come into force as early as April 2021. We take a look at what it will cover ...
On 24 February 2021, the Finance Secretary Paul Chan delivered the 2021-22 Budget which highlighted upcoming government initiatives to promote the establishment of and re-domiciliation of offshore funds to Hong Kong using the Hong Kong open-ended fund company structure (OFC) ...
Earlier this month, Elon Musk revealed that Tesla, the electric car company run by the world's richest person, had bought $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in bitcoin and might soon also accept payment in the popular but controversial cryptocurrency. News of Tesla’s investment boosted bitcoin, and while lately it dropped from its record high, it appears to be rebounding. Cryptocurrency investment continues to move into the mainstream as global interest rates remain at record lows ...
Bradley attorneys Aron Beezley and Nathaniel Greeson highlight the administrative bid protest landscape in New York given the state's abundant acquisition economy. New York state's budget is the second largest in the country, and with it, New York has some of the most developed state acquisition laws and procedures in the country. Accordingly, New York provides comparatively robust bid protest rights when it comes to state-level bid protests ...
On 8 February 2021, The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a consultation paper on (i) the proposed code of conduct on bookbuilding and placing activities in equity capital market (ECM) and debt capital market (DCM) transactions (Proposed Code) and (ii) the “sponsor coupling” proposal (together, the Proposals) ...
This bulletin is on recent Philippine legal developments in data privacy, fintech and digital banks. PRIVACY UPDATE Caring about Sharing: New Rules on Data Sharing Agreements On December 23, 2020, the Philippine data privacy regulator, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) issued NPC Circular No. 2020-03 on data sharing agreements (2020 DSA Circular).1 The circular supersedes NPC Circular No ...
The objective of open banking is to have a payments and markets infrastructure which provides customers with the ability to review all their banking and financial information seamlessly. Open banking will lead to a situation where regardless of how many accounts and financial products a customer has with multiple institutions, he can manage them from a centralised location without having to check out from one system to another ...
The HKMA published a report titled “AML/CFT Regtech: Case Studies and Insights” highlighting the opportunities that Regtech offers to transform the effectiveness and efficiency of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) efforts, and sharing end-to-end approaches which worked in real-life examples ...
The FSI has published the BIS’s research paper titled “Fintech regulation: how to achieve a level playing field” in February 2021 (the “Paper”). The Paper explores how regulation should evolve to encourage fair competition between traditional banks and new fintech and big tech players ...
ASIFMA, together with the Future of Sustainable Data Alliance, published a paper entitled “Data Challenges and Opportunities for ESG and Sustainable Finance in Asia Pacific” – a result of a year-long review of sustainability data challenges facing the industry in the Asia Pacific ...
As we near the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, trademark maintenance deadlines in 2021 create new obstacles for registrants. To maintain a federal trademark registration, registrants must periodically file an affidavit of use under Section 8, swearing that the mark is in use in commerce or that the registrant has an acceptable excuse for nonuse. Recent office actions show that the U.S ...
As mentioned in our article published on 3 April 2020, the deadline for compliance with the Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC’s) circular of 8 July 2019 on new measures to protect client assets (Circular) was extended to 31 January 2021. With these new measures in place, intermediaries are now required to obtain confirmation from authorised institutions (AIs) (i.e ...
On 23 December 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) relating to Open-ended Fund Companies (OFCs) on matters related to custodians and the custody of assets and records of the OFC. Appointment of multiple custodians Under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, all scheme property of an OFC must be entrusted to a custodian of the OFC for safekeeping ...
On 5 February 2021, financial authorities in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM), jointly signed a memorandum of understa
In an ever-changing working world, it has never been as important to stay in touch and up to date with what's happening around us. Our bite-sized webinars are designed to focus on practical tips for in-house lawyers ...
Andrew Pattinson and Anna Lowe interview Sarah Teal and Richard Symonds on how CVAs are currently being used, where they are going and what do landlords and tenants (and their advisors) need to know? What exactly is a CVA and why is it different from other forms of insolvency process A CVA is a company rescue procedure. It is a proposal whereby the company restructures its business (i.e. deals with historic debts, under performance stores etc ...
Post-Brexit, it’s now even more important for farming families to understand how changes to direct payments and valuation of farmland can affect succession, asset protection and family disputes. We explain what you need to know. Leaving the EU resulted in the UK leaving the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which paid farmers direct payments and has been a significant source of income for many farmers ...
The VAT domestic reverse charge - referred to below as the reverse charge - is a major change to the way VAT will be collected in the building and construction industry. The reverse charge regime will come into effect on 1 March 2021 and will in many instances require customers receiving building and construction services to pay the VAT due directly to HMRC, instead of paying the supplier. This is a fundamental change to the way in which VAT is administered on construction contracts ...
Social bonds, which raise funds for new or existing projects seeking to address social issues, continue to soar in popularity among investors – but how is “social bond” designation achieved? The primary criteria for social bond designation is established by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) ...
Key Points Later this month, the Berkeley City Council is expected to consider ending exclusionary zoning by December 2022. The city has a long history of implementing single-family zoning, which encourages more expensive stand-alone homes that are often inaccessible to disadvantaged populations. The shift would place Berkeley, which in 1916 became the nation's first city with single-family zoning, at the forefront of a modern era of inclusionary housing policy ...
Following last week’s FHFA announcement extending the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosure and eviction moratoria and their deadlines for applying for COVID-related forbearance, the White House announced on February 16 that FHA, VA, and USDA will extend their single-family residential foreclosure and eviction moratoria, and their deadlines for applying for COVID-related forbearance, to June 30, 2021 ...
The reasons for the changes to the Golden visa rules: A legislative authorisation in the 2020 State Budget 2020 authorised the Government to review the rules on residence permits for investment provided for in Law 23/2007 of 4 July by the end of 2020. The aim is to encourage investment in inland areas, urban regeneration, cultural heritage, activities of high environmental or social value, and productive investment and job creation ...
