In the last few months, the UAE authorities have introduced a number of measures intended to increase the number of UAE nationals who are employed in the private sector. The Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council (Nafis) program, originally established in 2016 with the aim of attracting UAE nationals to the private sector, has been reinvigorated ...
The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) has issued an undated notice where it has listed the documents that all DICA registered companies are required to submit to DICA to obtain its approval to repatriate foreign currencies out of Myanmar (the “Notice”). We understand from the Notice that it applies only to DICA registered companies ...
SyCipLaw's Banking, Finance & Securities Department's Banking Bulletin for April 2023 features the latest issuances from theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines), which includes the amendment of the miscellaneous rules on deposits and the issuance of rules on mediation and adjudication of financial consumer complaints: BSP Amends Miscellaneous Rules On Deposits On December 14, 2022, the BSP issued Circular No ...
The wait is finally over as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) passes through Parliament with aims of introducing numerous protections for consumers, including powers to clamp down on fake reviews. The pandemic was the catalyst in the rise of online shopping meaning that consumers rely heavily on online reviews, more so now than they used to ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill's granting of power to the Competition and Markets Authority to impose financial penalties has grabbed the headlines. The Government’s press release published alongside the Bill boasts that the CMA will be able to fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover for mistreating customers ...
The Supreme Court on 10 May 2023 considered whether damage caused by an oil spill in 2011 could constitute a “continuing nuisance” – and so extend the limitation period for a claim ...
On the 10 May 2023, the FCA published its findings from its review into firms’ approaches to fair value assessments under the new Consumer Duty. In conducting its review, the FCA’s objective was to understand how firms in different sectors are implementing the price and value requirements, in a bid to ensure that the internal supervisory and regulatory approaches within the FCA reflect industry thinking ...
The rise in the cost of living remains a key societal concern and thus an issue for government. The purpose of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to promote competitive markets and tackle unfair practices. On 15 May 2023 the CMA issued the report ‘Action to help contain cost of living pressures’. Regarding groceries, the report identifies that food inflation in the UK was 19.1% in March 2023, compared to general inflation at 10.1% ...
The South African banking and finance landscape is continually evolving, driven by changing regulations as well as emerging trends. Recent amendments to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) have brought about new obligations that trustees operating within the sector must be aware of ...
Last Friday, on 12 May 2023, the UAE Ministry of Finance (Ministry) published an Explanatory Guide which provides an explanation of the meaning and intended effect of each article of the Corporate Tax (CT) Law. The Explanatory Guide may be accessedHere ...
On February 23, 2023, the Parliament adopted a new Law of Ukraine "On Collective Agreements and Contracts" (hereinafter - the " Law" ). Most of the provisions of the Law enter into force 6 months after the termination or cancellation of martial law, but we can understand what new this act offers now ...
Although NFTs have existed for a number of years, and have changed the world of merchandise and art, it is worth considering how intellectual property (IP) rights interplay with this asset class. This article considers NFTs in their component parts with a view to understanding how IP law, and specifically the areas of copyright and trade marks, apply. What is an NFT? An NFT stands for non-fungible token and is a digital asset with a unique digital identifier, recorded on a blockchain ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill ('Bill') has now landed. Its aim is to protect against consumer harms that have materialised following the digital transformation of how we buy goods, services and digital content. What does this mean for consumer protection law? Subscriptions Why? The Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) estimates that consumers spend £1.6 billion a year on subscriptions they do not want [1] ...
By imposing the obligations, the regulation aims to end unfair practices and conduct which is harmful to competition and end users by the companies acting as gatekeepers in the online platform economy. Under the DMA, a firm will be considered as a designated gatekeeper if three criteria are met. First, the company must have a significant impact on the European market which is determined by the company’s turnover ...
Corporate flexibility Jersey’s corporate law regime is modern and flexible, providing a wide range of structuring options that can be tailored to the specific needs of the business. This flexibility is particularly useful for companies looking to list in the U.S., as Jersey companies can look and feel very similar to Delaware corporations where that is desirable. Direct listing Jersey companies can list securities in the U.S ...
Applicability of English case law and practice The relevant provisions of the Jersey companies law are based on the UK Companies Act 1985, and are similar to the equivalent provisions in the UK Companies Act 2006 ...
The Metaverse, retail and brand protection When first confronted with concepts such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, it took most of us quite some time before we felt it was “safe enough” to make our first online purchase. For some, it was a case of calling a friend to find out if their experience was legitimate before taking that leap! Well, safe to say this is no longer the case ...
By: Neusha Etemad and Anne Marie Ellis CDA Background Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was enacted in 1996 to provide websites with immunity from liability arising from posting third-party content. For a service provider to be immune, however, the information at issue must be “provided by another information content provider ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline for applications for amnesty for late and non-filing of annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS), as well as non-compliance with SEC Memorandum Circular No. 28, series of 2020 (Requirement for Corporations, Partnerships, Associations, and Individuals to Create and/or Designate E-mail Account Address and Cellphone Number for Transactions with the Commission) (MC28) ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (“Examinations”) issued a Risk Alert on April 26, 2023 to highlight the importance of establishing written policies and procedures for safeguarding customer records and information at branch offices. Examinations provides that a branch office includes any location other than a firm’s main office, including offices of any independent contractors through which a firm may offer investment products and services ...
The new framework for assessing non-domestic property rateable values has been set out under the draft Non-Domestic Rating Bill, introduced to Parliament on 23 March 2023 – but only likely to take effect on or after 1 April 2024. As business rates policy is fully devolved, not all of these measures will apply in Wales. The more regular revaluations should keep rateable values closer to market reality ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament) that would materially affect merger control for transactions. This comment addresses the proposed changes that would be of concern to those engaged in mergers affecting local markets ...
The European Commission has confirmed that it has started dawn raids at the premises of companies operating in the fashion industry in several Member States. Officers from national competition authorities accompanied Commission officials at these inspections. The Commission has also sent out formal requests for information to such companies ...
