The Philippine section of Getting the Deal Through: Aviation Finance & Leasing 2015 was contributed by SyCipLaw senior associate Bhong Paulo A. Macasaet with associates Aldous Benjamin C. Camiso, Diana S. Gervacio, and Maricar G. Ramos ...
On 21 July 2016, National Treasury released the third draft of the regulations under the Financial Markets Act, 2012 (the “Third Draft Regulations”). The previous draft of the regulations was released in June 2015. The Third Draft Regulations are, together with pending legislation, aimed at progressing the financial sector reform strategy for South Africa ...
While the initial rush of foreign investors to Myanmar slowed down in 2015, likely due to the November elections, 2016 is predicted to be a year of rapid growth. The almost complete transition of power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), formerly in opposition, represents an impressive step forward to stability for the nation, and to opening up to the world ...
On 11 July 2016, The National Bank of Serbia adopted amendments to three by-laws of the Law on Banks (Risk Management Decision, Decision on the Classification of Bank Balance Sheet Assets and Off-balance Sheet Items and the Decision on Reporting Requirements for Banks), and in doing so, took a significant step towards effectuating the implementation of the strategies on resolving non-performing loans and the action plan rendered by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Nation
Brexit – what does it involve and when could it happen? In a referendum, held in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2016, a majority of voters decided in favor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) (this exit from the EU by the UK is the so-called Brexit). The referendum is not binding ...
The Ministry of Commerce under the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar issued Notification no. 56/2016 on 7 July 2016, announcing that permits for the trading of construction materials may be granted to joint-venture companies with a foreign partner. This means that foreign companies can now form a joint-venture company and import constructions materials– they could not do this in the past ...
On Monday, 11 July 2016, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) launched a T+3 settlement cycle. This is in line with international best practice and moves away from the previous standard T+5 settlement cycle. The result is that settlement, payment and funds release in respect of securities trades will be done in a total of four days, as opposed to six days (as was previously the case). The move is the culmination of a project initiated by the JSE in 2013 ...
On 30 June 2016, Vietnam’s National Assembly voted to delay implementation of Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 dated 27 November 2015 (the “Penal Code”), which was to take effect on 1 July 2016. It is not clear at this time when the Penal Code will be implemented and we understand it will undergo significant revisions prior to being approved for implementation by the National Assembly ...
Recently, public and political commotion has arisen in cases where the remuneration of managing directors increased, while the employees received no or a marginal increase in salary. This public debate was the reason for the government to propose an expansion of powers of the work's council on this subject ...
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 ...
On June 8, discussion started in the Public Works Commission of the Senate over the law project which creates the state company, “Fondo de Infraestructura S.A.”. The Project shall be approved by a special quorum (quórum calificado) as indicated in article 19 No. 21 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile ...
The June 2016 edition of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Edition included a regional update article entitled “Philippines’ Economic Prospects Under a Duterte Presidency” by SyCipLaw partner Jose Florante M. Pamfilo. The article is found on page 11.Visit the ALB website to access an e-book copy of the publication ...
One of the significant issues in the past has been that most international banks have not conducted direct banking transactions with Myanmar banks. This was at least partially due to Myanmar being on an international black list that discourages banks from countries that are a “member” from transacting business with banks from countries on the list ...
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 venture capital industry has one goal: making startups incredibly lucrative and, thus, maximizing returns to venture capital investors. For the venture capital investor these outstanding returns are generally materialized 5 or 6 years after the Series A investment round, when the investor makes an exit and the startup either performs an initial public offering of its shares (IPO) or is sold to a strategic acquirer or a private equity fund ...
Background The UK referendum held on 23 June 2016 has resulted in a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. As of now the UK is still a part of the EU notwithstanding the vote on 23 June. It is now up to the UK parliament to decide if, and if so when, to formally start the process to leave the EU. The exit of a member state from the EU is dealt with in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) which has only existed since 1 December 2009 ...
In the short term, the vote to leave the European Union doesn’t signal an immediate change. It’s business as usual for the UK and the EU. The EU Treaties and laws continue to apply without exception in the UK – as does the obligation to comply. The process of the UK exiting from the EU will, however, be the focus over the next few months ...
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 ...
In a decision issued last May 20,1 the Québec Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment2 of the Superior Court of Québec rendered on October 28, 2013, which dismissed the action in damages for more than $7 million brought by a former representative in insurance of persons and in group savings plan brokerage, Mr. Alan Murphy, against the Autorité des marchés financiers (?AMF?).FactsMr ...
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 ...
Contrary to Anglo-Saxon and Northern European countries, French financial institutions have not used asset based lending, both because French security law was perceived as debtor friendly in insolvency proceedings and because French banks usually lend against balance sheets.In the context of credit restrictions, the French government was challenged to foster a reform aimed at facilitating the mobilisation of assets, in particularby SMEs, which have no credit rating ...
According to recent reports, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has plans of investing more than EUR 3 billion in the Western Balkans region, of which approximately EUR 300 million is assigned to Serbia ...
