At long last, the Government's proposals in relation to the development of a Single Equality Bill have been released for consultation. The proposals stem from the work of the Discrimination Law Review that was established in February 2005 to consider the existing framework of discrimination legislation and to develop proposals aimed at harmonising and simplifying the current law ...
Regulation 45-106 respecting prospectus and registration exemptions (“Regulation 45-106”) has caused much concern and plenty of ink to flow since it came into force on September 14, 2005. The purpose of this newsletter is to discuss the modification made by Regulation 45-106 with respect to the restrictions that must be contained in an issuer’s constating documents in order for the issuer to have private issuer status(1) ...
On 11 June 2007, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (http://www.sfc.hk/sfcRegulatoryHandbook/EN/displayFileServlet?docno=H461) outlining a set of initiatives to streamline and simplify its licensing processes. The circular, which provides practical guidance to fund managers intending to apply to the SFC for a licence, is principally directed at overseas hedge fund managers from the US and the UK ...
The development of online markets continues to pose challenges for legislators, who must balance the protection of IP rights owners with protecting traders against anti-competitive behaviour. Trademarks and copyright are particularly vulnerable to infringement on the Internet ...
On 10 May 2007, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued its "Notice on the Adjustments to the Overseas Investment Scope of Overseas Wealth Management Business of Commercial Banks on behalf of their Clients". This Notice widens the investment scope permitted under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors scheme (QDII) applicable to commercial banks (including Chinese banks and approved foreign banks in China) ...
The SFC's feedback on their recent round of inspections of Investment Advisers (IAs) was shared with members of the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong on 8 May 2007. The SFC reported that the main issues they identified were: insufficient knowledge of clients and lack of justification to illustrate suitability of advice ...
The SFC recently appointed Mr. Mark Steward from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) as Executive Director of Enforcement. While enforcement initiatives of the SFC under his new leadership are still evolving, reference to the past record of ASIC’s enforcement may provide some hints ...
On 7 May 2007, the SFC updated the Licensing Related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its website under the heading, "Other Topics relating to the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO)".The updated FAQs assist licensed corporations or licensed applicants in understanding the SFC's view on factors relating to suitability of business premises ...
A licensed corporation, registered institution, licensed individual, substantial shareholder of a licensed corporation, corporate licence applicant or an individual licence applicant can apply to the SFC to have certain sections of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) or any provision of rules made by the SFC modified or waived under the SFO according to section 134 of the SFO ...
The promotion of research, development and innovation (R&D&I) has been identified as a key obligation by both the European Union as well as it member states in recent years ...
In recent weeks, hefty fines for data breaches have been issued in the United Kingdom and Greece. Surprisingly, these fines have not been levied by data protection authorities, but by other regulators with overlapping jurisdiction over data security. The authors, from Hunton & Williams, write that data protection enforcement in Europe appears to be entering a new phase ...
WiMax, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a new product developing in Chile that promises to revolutionise Internet access. WiMax allows high speed transmission of data and multimedia services (e.g., the Internet and videos) from laptops, cell phones and other portable devices from distances greater than was possible with previous technologies. According to some preliminary tests, WiMax equipment can reach up to 40 km in open spaces ...
The financial services industry recently witnessed a plethora of competition investigations. The banking sector, in particular, has attracted the attention of competition watchdogs in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. Following an 18-month European sector enquiry, UK banks seem to have largely escaped the danger of significant enforcement actions, except possibly in relation to credit cards ...
Much has been made of the e-communication provisions set out in the new Companies Act 2006. However, less is known of a piece of legislation which came into force on 1 January 2007, the Companies (Registrar, Languages and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2006, which affect the electronic communications of every company and limited liability partnership in the UK ...
Each time we give up a bit of information about ourselves to the Government, we give up some of our freedom. For the more the Government or any institution knows about us, the more power it has over us. When the Government knows all of our secrets we stand naked before official power.” [Introductory remarks of Senator Sam Ervin on S3418, Legislative History of the Privacy Act of 1974 ...
Immediate access to the latest data is essential for business. The Internet and other networks ensure that data are readily accessible. But easy access to data carries with it certain risks, including the risk of unauthorised access. According to research by Gartner in 2006, 80 percent of companies will have suffered an application security incident by 2009 ...
"Outsourcing" is defined as an event in which the regulated financial services firm (the "outsourcing entity"), contracts with a service provider to perform any aspect of the outsourcing entity's regulated or unregulated functions that could otherwise be undertaken by the entity itself. The service provider may be a related party within a corporate group, or an unrelated third party entity ...
A Chinese commercial bank recently launched an investment product under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors scheme (QDII) which takes in Renminbi funds from mainland investors and invests in offshore equity funds, fixed income instruments and money market products denominated in foreign currencies. This is an important breakthrough as previously QDII products from banks only invested in fixed income instruments ...
The countdown towards implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is well underway. The Directive, which replaces the existing Investment Services Directive, is due to come into force across the European Union by 1 November 2007. Member States are required to have the necessary enabling legislation and regulatory rules in final form by 31 January ...
