Following announcements during the 2021-22 Budget by the Finance Secretary Paul Chan, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued on 10 May 2021 details of the grant scheme available for Hong Kong open-ended fund companies (OFCs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) ...
Those of us who grew up in the 70’s or 80’s may recall the excitement of Marty McFly wandering around in the then distant future of October 2015. Yes, 2015. Just over 5 years ago. ‘Where are the flying cars?!?’, you might be forgiven for asking. ‘And why don’t our Hover Boards, you know, hover?’ It's a common theme. George Orwell’s 1984 never happened as predicted and there’s no Big Brother watching us from a screen on the wall ...
The pandemic has, if nothing else, demonstrated how much more needs to be done in the battle against climate change. Despite the worldwide economic slowdown and travel ban resulting from coronavirus, global carbon dioxide emissions reduced by just 6% (approximately 2.3bn tonnes) in 2020. But both governments and industry are responding to the challenge, however, with a renewed sense of urgency and collaborative spirit ...
In recent years the Charity Commission has concentrated on its statutory objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities and many in the charity sector consider it has dwelt unduly on the negatives. However the Commission has four other objectives set out in the Charities Act 2011 and we now see more attention paid to promoting compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations and the effective use of charitable resources ...
To support our IHL community, on 21 April we hosted our latest webinar on “Fraud” where we discussed the recent upsurge in fraud due to home working, general awareness of fraudulent activity and what businesses can do to protect themselves. Here are the key takeaways: What types of fraud are you seeing at the moment? The world is a turbulent place right now, and therefore the perfect time for fraud and illicit activity to thrive ...
On March 29, in a development that provides some measure of relief to businesses operating in West Virginia, particularly within the financial services industry, Gov. Jim Justice signed into law amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, or WVCCPA ...
On March 29, in a development that provides some measure of relief to businesses operating in West Virginia, particularly within the financial services industry, Gov. Jim Justice signed into law amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, or WVCCPA ...
Unpacking the Economic Aid Act and American Rescue Plan Act: Consolidated First Draw PPP Interim Final Rule, New First Draw PPP Loans, and Increases to First Draw PPP Loans On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by Economic Aid Act” (sometimes referred to as the “Consolidated First D
On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Second Draw Loans” (“Second Draw Rules”). These rules announced the implementation of section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) ...
Background Disqus is an American company offering online public comment sharing services. These services were previously used by various Norwegian online newspapers. The Data Protection Authority has investigated whether Disqus has been sharing information about the users of the comment sections with marketing companies, without the knowledge of neither the users nor the owners of the online newspapers, and in breach of the GDPR ...
The recent anti-suit injunction decision in Axis v Absa Group demonstrates the importance of considering the practical effect of jurisdiction clauses when a suite of contracts or (re)insurance policies are entered into ...
On June 26, 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Finance – MEF published in the Official Gazette “El Peruano” the Supreme Decree Nº 162-2021-EF (hereinafter, the “Supreme Decree”), whereby it amends the rules contained in the Regulations of the State Procurement Law, adopted by Supreme Decree Nº 344-2018-EF (hereinafter, the “Regulations”) ...
Did you know? The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions (“Measures”) released by the PRC State Administration for Market Regulation will come into force on 1 May 2021 and will replace the previous rules implemented in 2014. Among other things, the Measures impose more stringent requirements against the common practice of “bundled consent” ...
Did you know? The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions (“Measures”) released by the PRC State Administration for Market Regulation will come into force on 1 May 2021 and will replace the previous rules implemented in 2014. Among other things, the Measures impose more stringent requirements against the common practice of “bundled consent” ...
ecently,companies that offer platforms for the purchase of shares in foreign companies (“investment tech” or “wealth tech”)to Nigerians have been in a tussle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (“SEC”) over their business activities ...
Scams are common these days. Hence, the regulatory bodies, financial institutions and news media often warn the public to exercise due diligence before making any investments with promises of high-profit returns ...
Considering the increasing disuse of the check as payment method, from January 11 to January 29, 2021, the Financial Market Commission (“ FMC ”) kept opened a public consultation process on an amendment to Chapter 2-2 of its Updated Regulations Compendium, to allow banks to offer checkless checking accounts to the general public ...
On Tuesday 19 April, at its weekly cabinet meeting, the Thai Government approved the Finance Ministry’s request for an additional THB 3.04 billion in funding for its Rao Chana (‘We Win’) stimulus program and extended its duration by one more month until 30 June 2021. This program initially allocated with THB 210.20 billion in funding was launched earlier this year with the intention of providing one-off handouts of THB 7,000 to eligible applicants covering roughly 31 ...
Quick and easily accessible guide for human resource and compliance professionals in the Lao PDR to understand the local data protection requirements. This DFDL infographic provides general guidance to HR and compliance departments as to the different steps employers should consider while collecting, monitoring and storing employees’ personal data to prevent or manage the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace ...
Several listed companies recently bought the music rights of world famous stars such as Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift. The payoff of investing in music mainly comes from streams revenues. But the benefits do not seem to be that bad: for instance, since Sony bought Michael Jackson's music portfolio in 2016, its stock price has quadrupled (1) ...
Over the weekend, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill that would enact a tax on gains from the sale or exchange of certain capital assets ...
Over the weekend, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill that would enact a tax on gains from the sale or exchange of certain capital assets ...
On April 27, the CFPB published a final rule extending the date for mandatory compliance with the new “general” Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule (General QM Rule) until October 1, 2022. In December, 2020, the CFPB published the final General QM Rule ...
Acting under its new Debt Collection Licensing Act licensing administration and enforcement authority granted by SB 908, the DFPI Commissioner issued a public statement on April 9th reminding all future license applicants under the Debt Collection Licensing Act of California’s renter protections associated with COVID-19 rental debt ...
