Protection for commercial tenants, similar to what was previously announced in British Columbia, is now potentially coming to Alberta. See the Alberta government’s news release, dated June 16, 2020. On June 16, 2020, the Alberta government introduced Bill 23: the Commercial Tenancies Protection Act, which is intended to protect commercial tenants from evictions and lease terminations during the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Key Points IRS guidance expands the definition of “qualified individual” for receiving a tax-favored coronavirus-related distribution (“CRD”) from a retirement plan and other plan changes under the CARES Act. The guidance confirms that plan changes under the CARES Act are optional, including the loan repayment delay, and provides a safe harbor method for implementing the loan repayment delay ...
In response to the financial impact of COVID-19 on local governments within the State of Ohio (State), the Ohio Office of the Treasurer has introduced the COVID-19 Response Initiative (Initiative). The purpose of the Initiative is to provide liquidity to local governments by accelerating fiscal year cash flows and easing revenue shortfalls as a result of COVID-19 ...
On June 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a Temporary Conditional Exemption for municipal advisors (MAs), which provides an exemption from certain broker registration requirements under Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This order is in response to the disruption in the municipal securities markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Key Points Before undertaking a stock option repricing program, consider the tax impact on employees holding incentive stock options (ISOs) Additionally, consider the corporate and securities laws that govern repricing programs Introduction Stock options are a vital form of compensation at a wide range of privately-held companies.1 Stock options are intended to motivate employees to drive stockholder value and are used as an employee retention tool ...
Vietnam, a country of 97 million people, has been widely recognized for its successful handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak. On January 27, as the country celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared war on the coronavirus, having said "fighting this epidemic is like fighting the enemy". The Prime Minister and his cabinet acted expediently in controlling the spread of the virus ...
Airport sponsors and their legal counsel have been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to exercise judgment and make tough decisions regarding the financial accommodations they will offer their commercial aeronautical tenants to help them weather the current storm ...
Pharmaceuticals and medical devices in Malaysia are governed by the following main legislation and regulations:the Sale of Drugs Act 1952 (SODA 1952);the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984 (CDCR 1984);the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (DDA 1952);the Poisons Act 1952 (PA 1952);the Medicines (Advertisement and Sales Act) 1956 (MASA 1956); andthe Medical Device Act 2012 (MDA 2012) ...
The Fintech LandscapeDevelopments in 2019 in terms of sectors were:Payments: Remittance was an area of significant growth in 2019, with a number of notable non-bank payments service providers receiving Remittance (Class B) Licences from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). MoneyMatch, the first graduate from BNM’s Regulatory Sandbox programme for incubating and ensuring the sustainability and regulatory compliance of fintech start-ups, was the first to receive a licence at the start of the year ...
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined an intermediary $6.4 million for control failures over a two year period in solicitation and recommendation of bonds to clients for execution on a third party platform ...
On 14 May 2020, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) unveiled the Opinions on Providing Financial Support for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (together the Opinions, available here in Chinese). The Opinions propose 26 measures to implement the following policy goals: 1 ...
On 22 May 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a supplemental circular introducing changes to the scope of leveraged and inverse products (L&I Products) which the SFC would accept for authorization for public offering in Hong Kong ...
On 9 June 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) began a two-month consultation on proposed amendments to the Code on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The SFC intends to provide Hong Kong REITs with more investment flexibility ...
Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) has recently issued two sets of revised guidelines: III.2 Guidelines on Equities and Other Securities (Guideline III.2) and III.14 Guidelines on Default Investment Strategy (Guideline III.14). The revisions enable greater flexibility in investment in real estate investment funds (REITs). The revised Guideline III ...
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued its Consultation Conclusions on the OTC derivatives regime for Hong Kong – Proposed refinements to the scope of regulated activities and competence requirements under the OTC derivatives licensing regime (Conclusions) on 10 June 2020 ...
In the recent case of Peter Mann v Paterson Constructions Pty Ltd [2019] HCA 32, the High Court of Australia had to consider whether remuneration for work and labour done by the Respondent for the Appellants under a domestic building contract, before the contract was terminated by the Respondent’s acceptance of the Appellant’s repudiation, was recoverable by the Respondent under the contract, or alternatively, as restitution for unjust enrichment (on a quantum meruit basis) a
While the world contends with the COVID-19 crisis and its economic and financial impact, China is quietly opening its doors to its financial sector, inviting more foreign financial institutions, banks, insurance providers and other financial service companies to set up shop in China. On March 27, the Chinese government granted approval for both The Goldman Sachs Group Inc ...
It’s 8 am, and you just learned that a material cyber-incident occurred in your organization. You fire up your Incident Response Plan. You engage outside counsel, and outside counsel engages a forensic firm. Your company, your outside counsel, and your forensic firm all sign an agreement that the forensic firm will work at the direction of outside counsel ...
Key Points Prior recessions saw increased instances of investor-favorable terms. Founders need to weigh the benefit of receiving financing now vs. the potential chilling effect on future rounds of equity investment. Founders strategizing how to raise capital in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, can look to the last Great Recession to understand investor-favorable deal terms that may be prime to make a comeback ...
Key Points IRS proposed new regulations for like-kind exchanges under section 1031. The guidance provides the definition of real property and treatment of incidental personal property in the section 1031 context. On June 11, 2020, the IRS released proposed regulations for like-kind exchanges under Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") section 1031 to incorporate the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA") changes ...
What are trademark scams? Many scam artists attempt to solicit money from trademark owners by sending notices that appear to be authentic but are meant to mislead or fraudulently induce payment for unnecessary or nonexistent services. Unfortunately, because trademark filings are a matter of public record, many bad actors utilize the filing information to prey upon the owners by seeming legitimate. An example of a widely -known scam is shown below ...
MDR postponement On 17 April 2020 the European Parliament decided to postpone the transition timeline to implement the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which was set to expire on 26 May 2020, until 26 May 2021. The EU MDR postponement was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 24 April 2020 ...
In the recent case of A Company v X,Y, Z [2020] EWHC 809 (TCC), England’s Technology and Construction Court granted an injunction restraining the Defendants (a global expert firm) from acting in an arbitration, due to breach of the fiduciary duty of loyalty to the client ...
On June 3, 2020, the President of the Republic enacted the law that governs the financial portability, which was published in the Diario Oficial today, June 9, 2020 (the “Law”), whose main provisions can be summarized as follows: I. Scope The Law sets an inalienable right to the financial portability for the “Clients”, i.e ...
New Law No. 21,234, which amends and replaces Law No. 20,009, entered into force on May 29th, 2020. This norm aims to provide more protection to consumers and extending the liability of financial institutions against payment card and electronic transaction fraud ...
