The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 (the “Amendment Ordinance”) introduces, amongst other things, major relaxations to the prospectus regime in Hong Kong to facilitate market development. This bulletin summarises some of these changes brought by the Amendment Ordinance (The changes regarding prospectuses brought by the Amendment Ordinance as summarised in this bulletin came into operation on 3 December, 2004) ...
The SFC has recently settled a number of disciplinary cases on the basis of payment by the persons under investigations without admission of liabilities. Below are some examples of the settlement cases. SFC Withdrew Decision to Suspend Licence of a Licensed Representative The licence of a licensed representative was suspended by the SFC for six months by reason of his use of placing schemes to meet the placing requirements of the Listing Rules ...
On 30 June 2005, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) finalised the self-assessment framework on AML compliance. The self-assessment framework has been introduced for the purposes of facilitating the assessment by authorised institutions’ (“AIs”) of their compliance with the regulatory requirements on AML and to supplement the HKMA’s on-site examinations ...
On 30 June 2005, the House of Lords delivered its judgment in National Westminster Bank plc v. Spectrum Plus Limited & others [2005] UKHL 41. The case has resolved a controversial legal issue concerning the distinction between a fixed charge and a floating charge. Fixed Charges and Floating Charges It may be helpful first to describe the basic difference between the operation of a fixed charge and that of a floating charge ...
The SFC has adopted a split approach in dealing with UCITS III funds. For funds which will adopt enhanced use of derivatives and make changes to their investment policies or objectives in migrating to UCITS III, the SFC requires: • a notice to existing holders explaining the proposed changes and confirmation from the fund or its manager that the home regulator has approved the final version of this notice ...
Under Part XV of the Securities & Futures Ordinance (SFO), where a company has an interest (or a short position) in Hong Kong listed shares, its holding company is deemed to have that interest; this attribution is carried the whole way up a corporate chain to the ultimate holding company. This imposes onerous monitoring requirements on financial services groups ...
This English law decision not only serves as a timely reminder of a bank’s duty of confidentiality to its clients but is potentially worrying as the case confirms loss of opportunity to earn future profits as a recoverable head of damage following breach of confidence. Jackson v Royal Bank of Scotland (2005) UKHL3, [2005] A ER(d)280 Facts: Jackson (trading under the name Sampson Lancastrian (Sampson)) had entered into a contract to supply dog chews to another UK entity, Economy Bag ...
Concord Trust v Law Debenture (http://www.lawdeb.com/). Law Debenture House of Lords considered the obligations and liabilities of bond issue trustees in relation to notices of acceleration ...
The year 2004 saw increased M&A activity in the Ukrainian banking sector. Some of the notable acquisitions include equity transfers in Kredit Bank (to PKO Bank Polski S.A.), Transbank (to Bank TuranAlem of Kazakhstan),Bank Leader (to Renaissance Capital of Russia), and, of course, the benchmark deal of the year — acquisitionby Vilniaus Bankas, a Lithuanian subsidiary of the powerful SEB Group of Sweden, of the Joint Stock Bank Agio ...
The Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") have just released their consultation paper ("Paper") on the review of the disclosure of interests regime under Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) ("Part XV"). The Paper contains the SFC's proposals for changes to the law on disclosure of interests in shares. Most of the provisions of the Securities and Futures Ordinance was gazetted on 28 March 2002 and came into effect (including Part XV) on 1 April 2003 ...
Despite rumours from Westminster that the Pensions Bill was to be dropped to make room for the anti-fox hunting Bill, it looks certain that the Pensions Bill will finally receive Royal Assent in November. In its final form, the Bill now extends to over 350 pages. Those looking for simplification will be disappointed to say the least ...
Introduction Patented inventions are a large source of revenue in the pharmaceutical industry. Ireland's tax exemption in respect of certain patent royalties, has been one of the driving factors behind investment by pharmaceutical multinationals, principally from the US, in the Irish economy. Irish tax legislation provides an exemption from tax for income derived from "qualifying patents" when received by a person resident in Ireland and not resident in any other country ...
When it comes to the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, Europe and the United States have differing and diverse opinions. The United States has a liberal approach to the patentability of computer software and will therefore grant patents for such inventions. Not so in Europe though, where computer programs are patentable only if they make a “technical contribution” to the state of the art ...
ICC Publishes Paper on Internet Governance The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private sector body based in California, currently operates the allocation of domain names and Internet Protocol addresses on a worldwide basis. At the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in December 2003, the issue of transferring ICANN’s role to the United Nations was raised by a number of developing countries ...
Year-end deadline for application to the HKMA to adopt the basic approach and internal rating based approach for credit risk calculation The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") issued a circular ("the Circular") to all Hong Kong incorporated authorised institutions ("AIs") on 7 December 2004, requesting formal applications from AIs that plan to adopt the internal rating based ("IRB") or the basic approach ("Basic Approach") for the assessment of their capital adequacy ...
Practically everyday new companies in Ukraine are entering international financial markets through attraction of loans from international financial institutions (IFI), placement of Eurobonds, etc. Some of them would certainly soon start thinking of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) and similar instruments. In this overview the author tries to shed light on some very important but rather hidden prerequisites for success in doing so ...
The Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress passed the Law of the People's Republic of China on Electronic Signatures on 28 August 2004. The Law, which was promulgated on 28 August by President Hu Jintao, will enter into effect on 1 April 2005 and provides a legal basis for electronic transactions. Electronic data text The Law applies to electronic signatures in electronic data text ...
Modernizing Texas’ Foreign Legal Consultant Rule By Larry B. Pascal Introduction Texas law firms depend on cross-border work for a growing percentage of their revenue. Numerous Texas-based law firms have opened offices outside of the US including offices in Mexico, Europe, Russia and the surrounding Eurasian states, the Middle East, and Asia ...
On its way to a market economy, one of the primary tasks facing Ukraine is the development of its financial markets and, inevitably, elaboration of its finance laws. Although much remains to be done, the passing year has brought several major developments in the area of finance law: (a) introduction of the anti-money laundering system, (b) tightening of exchange controls and (c) further dramatic growth of the bond market, including the issue of corporate and municipal Eurobonds ...
Ukrainian Exchange Controls Have Always Been, if Anything, Overprotective. As More Ukrainian Companies Are Seeking Finance Abroad, Ukraine Has to Consider Adding Clarity and Certainty to its Exchange Controls in Order to FacilitateCross-Border Finance Regulatory imperfections. The system of Ukrainian exchange controls is based on the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine On the System of Currency Regulation and Currency Control (the “Decree”) adopted back in 1993 ...
California Law Requires Telling Your Customers That You've Been Hacked A new California Law (Assembly Bill No. 700, Chapter 1054) went into effect on July 1, 2002 that requires companies who conduct business in California to notify their California-resident customers if their unencrypted personel information may have been stolen as a result of a security breach ...
Technology Update Authors Brian D. Barnard Randall E. Colson M. Ann Newton Related Practice Groups Intellectual Property A new California Law (Assembly Bill No. 700, Chapter 1054) went into effect on July 1, 2002 that requires companies who conduct business in California to notify their California-resident customers if their unencrypted personel information may have been stolen as a result of a security breach ...
Five years ago your CEO told you that your company had to have a “web” strategy. So, you learned everything about the Internet. You hired specialty law firms, bought software, and entered into web development and hosting agreements. You mastered all the web lingo. Now, all of that is passé ...
The Internet is a rather young, but a very popular source of information for Ukrainian businesses and consumers. The Internet segment of the market has been actively developed recently and has acquired a high level of commercialization. According to the Ukrainian mass media, the number of Internet users in the Ukraine increased by over 70 % in 2002 ...
Project financing in emerging markets has been in use for some time, primarily for financing large new projects without any prior track record or operating history — greenfield projects. Emerging markets are in instant need of project financing as an effective instrument for economic investments. It facilitates attracting new investments by structuring the financing around the project's own operating cash flow and assets, without the additional guarantees of sponsors ...
