On 15 March 2020, the President of South Africa, in a national address, announced the declaration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a "national disaster". Since then, many significant consequential announcements have been made, relating to restrictions on movement, business activity, travel and other matters, all in the interests of preventing an escalation of the national disaster and alleviating, containing and minimising the effects of the national disaster ...
Now that South Africa is under lockdown for the next 21 days, as part of an organisation’s business continuity efforts, businesses will, to the extent possible, continue to run remotely. Two common legal issues that arise from remote working are: the electronic signing of agreements and instructions; and whether meetings can take place using technological means. In this article, we touch on both issues ...
The M&A market has entered a volatile period, but there are several strategies that you as a seller or buyer can use to navigate your deal through to completion. These strategies may be particularly relevant for buyers who have secured financing or large cash reserves. We also expect that it will generally be a buyer’s market for some time to come. Read this article as a PDF here. Purchase price mechanism ...
In the turmoil of adjusting and living day-to-day in this time of the COVID-19 virus, the public has become more attuned to the reality of the term “Supply Chain.” We are gaining a better appreciation that before products reach the consumer, an extensive network of shippers and transportation entities of all types and modes of commerce, as well as freight brokers and any other functions essential to the delivery cycle, are at play 24/7 ...
The current uncertainty in the world economy and the losses in the national stock market, generates concern about possible damage to the economy, derived from the pandemic caused by the virus COVID-19 ...
On March 24, Juan Carlos Jiménez Rojas, General Director of the Mexican Banking Association (Asociación de Bancos de México) (“ABM“), sent a letter to the President of the National Banking and Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) (“ View More
As a response to the financial tensions triggered by the dissemination of Covid-19, the ChileanCentral Bank (BCCh) has announced a series of measures aimed at granting liquidity to theeconomy, support the flow of credit and the conveyance of the monetary policy. A core component of these measures is that of a Credit Facility Conditioned to the Increase inPlacements (FCIC) ...
Covid-19 has had an impact on ongoing consumer contracts and their relations with suppliers. The rapid spread of the virus led the authorities to declare State of Disaster in the country, raising concern about the (i) fulfillment of consumer contracts of goods and services and (ii) an eventual price manipulation ...
The General Meeting during the State of Emergency? Can it take place? And can it be convened? Do crisis measures contain an exception for meetings of the statutory organs of the company (e.g ...
An issue concerning businesses at present is the problem of settlements between them resulting from non-culpable inability to perform contracts. This is an area that may require the Parliament’s intervention if current regulations prove insufficient. Due to the closure of anumber of facilities (restaurants, cinemas, some retail outlets), businesses are incurring huge losses ...
On 16 March 2020 the Polish Bank Association (ZBP) published astatement on helpful actions to be undertaken by Polish banks in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement clearly shows that banks recognise the need to take urgent action in response to anticipated difficulties borrowers will have in performing their obligations ...
The awaited regulation by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment on issuance of the Certificate for emergency situations (“CES”) has been adopted through Order 791/2020 relating to the granting of emergency certificates to the economic operators whose activity is affected in the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic published on 25 March ...
Last week, in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (the “PNO”) announced temporary e-filing procedures for the submission of HSR filings and a temporary suspension of early termination requests. Key Takeaways: As of March 17, 2020, the PNO and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will accept only electronic submissions of HSR filings (no paper or DVD filings) ...
Due to the expanding impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), physical distancing and remote work policies have increased adoption by companies of electronic signature platforms such as DocuSign, Adobe Sign, SignNow, and others (hereinafter, the “platforms”) in handling internal approvals and also executing commercial documents ...
In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Congress sought to pass a stimulus bill designed to mitigate the negative impact on the U.S. economy of measures taken to slow the spread of the virus.Hopes of a quick passage of the bill dimmed on March 21, when the Democrat and Republican negotiators in the Senate could not agree on worker protections or stock buyback restrictions for businesses that received funding, among other issues ...
Decree 457 of 2020 issued a mandatory preventive isolation order for every resident of the Republic of Colombia, as a consequence of the economic, social and ecological emergency that has been declared in the national territory. In this regard, it is required to regulate the mandatory isolation ordered by Decree 092 of 2020 in Bogotá D.C ...
The impact of Covid-19 is becoming more prevalent throughout the economic landscape of The Bahamas. Most recently, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, preventative measures involving the closure of non-essential local businesses for a specified duration were introduced by the Government in exercise of its emergency powers. This has had far-reaching effects in the employment sphere ...
In recent weeks, Governments around the world have been grappling with how best to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Bahamas is no exception. To date the Prime Minister has issued two Emergency Orders aimed at ensuring the health and safety of persons within The Bahamas ...
In order to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus, the Swedish government has proposed a crisis package that includes proposals for strengthening companies’ liquidity through the tax account, a new system for short-term working and the state taking over responsibility for sick-leave payment for two months. It is of course our hope that these proposals will result in most companies managing the effects of the coronavirus ...
Financial Market Commission Announces a Package of Measures to Facilitate Credit Flow to Both Companies and Individuals By Diego Peralta and Diego Lasagna On March 23, 2020, the Financial Market Commission’s Council (“CMF”) approved new measures destined to grant more flexibility to the financial system, in the context of the coronavirus Covid-19 global outbreak ...