Fast becoming the Monaco of the East, Singapore is luring global UHNWIs to set up family offices here due to its wealth-friendly tax and regulatory regime, and its position at the global economic growth epicentre. Sergey Brin (net worth: US$104 billion). Google’s co-founder and the world’s ninth-richest person set up a branch of his single family office (SFO), Bayshore Global Management, in Singapore to manage his local assets late last year ...
Virtual shareholder meetings have become ubiquitous for both public and private companies since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian securities regulators, stock exchanges and federal and provincial governments quickly responded to accommodate electronic meetings where it was otherwise not permitted. In British Columbia, Ministerial Order No ...
When parents separate one question that is often asked is how long will I or my ex have to pay child maintenance for. Child maintenance Child maintenance is a regular, usually monthly payment, made by the parent with whom the children do not live (commonly known as the non-resident parent (NRP)) to the other parent (commonly known as parent with care (PWC)) ...
A question that has been posed by separated parents over the last year has been whether they will need to pay maintenance for their children for longer due to the unexpected gap year. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there was an increase in students deferring their places at university due to start in the autumn of 2020. The number of deferrals was increased from 5.6% in 2019 to 6.3% in 2020 ...
On 21 May 2021, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) issued its consultation conclusions (Conclusions) on the proposed licensing regime for virtual asset services providers (VASPs). The Conclusions follow publication of the FSTB’s consultation paper of 3 November 2020 (Proposal). For details of the Proposal, please refer to our article of 24 November 2020 ...
The final phase of the Esterra Park development in Redmond, Washington, is a carbon-neutral development. Schwabe client JTM Construction is the general contractor for that project. As attorneys, we are interested in staying up to date on market trends, so we asked JTM to put together a panel to brief Schwabe’s Real Estate and Construction industry group on the carbon-neutral aspects of the project ...
Charitable giving is a way for businesses and individuals to save on taxes while supporting the causes that align with their values. At Schwabe, we can help clients to plan charitable gifts and make sure that their charitable giving works holistically with the plan they have created for the distribution of their entire estate. This article will cover common questions associated with charitable giving ...
2021 has continued to see steady activity with respect to acquisitions and re-structuring of businesses in the Cambodian market. There are a number of factors at the forefront of this activity, not least the pending capital gains tax implementation date of 1 January 2022, bargain hunting of distressed assets, and internal re-structuring of multi-national organizations, to name a few ...
POLITICAL AGREEMENT WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE ON THE DISCLOSURE OF INCOME TAX INFORMATION BY CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS AND BRANCHES _____________________________________ On 1 June 2021, the Council of the European Union (the “Council”) reached a political agreement with the European Parliament on the proposed directive on the disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches, commonly referred to as the public country-by-count
According to the Russian Government Order, dated 18th May 2021, the list of foreign citizens, who may enter Russia, has been expanded (the 'Order'). The text of the Order is available in Russian here. From 19th May 2021, the following persons are allowed to enter Russia: owners or heads of companies operating in Russia; foreign citizens entering to participate in negotiations on investment projects’ implementation ...
On May 28, 2021, Exempt Resolution No. 310, dated April 16, 2021 of the Ministry of the Environment was published in the Official Gazette. By means of such resolution, the Ministry of the Environment initiates the process of drafting the Supreme Decree that will set forth collection and recovery goals and other related obligations for batteries and electrical and electronic devices. Regulated priority products: "Batteries" and "Electrical and Electronic devices" ...
The Ministry of Security, through theExecutive Decree No. 199 of May 7th, 2021(hereinafter the “Decree”), adjusts the requirements for obtaining atemporary residence permitand apermanent residence permitas a Forest Investor, as follows: The forest investor residence permit may be requested in the following modalities: (i) temporary residence permit, (ii) permanent residence permit in 2 stages, and (iii) permanent residence permit in 1 stage ...
New measures for state contracting for economic reactivation. Through Decree 579 of 2021, issued on May 31 by the National Planning Department, certain transitory paragraphs enshrined in Decree 1082 of 2015 or the sole Regulatory Decree of the Administrative Planning Sector, were replaced in matters of state contracting ...
In the first part of the series, “Grey Divorce – hidden battles for protection and succession of family assets”, we looked at the recent trend of an increasing divorce rate for older couples and, in particular, the case of CSH vs LS or LS formerly known as CYY (FCMC 12435/2016; [2020] HKFC 143) (the CSH case) ...
In the recent case of A1 & ANOR V R2 & ORS [2021] HKCFI 650, the Applicants are pursuing proceedings in the Cayman Islands and other jurisdictions in relation to an alleged fraud committed against a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership, involving alleged misappropriation of over US$100 million ...
Financial ServicesBank Negara Malaysia seeks feedback on Alternative Reference Rate and Strategic Direction on KLIBOR and KLIRROn 19 May 2021, Bank Negara Malaysia invited written feedback by 18 June 2021 on its Alternative Reference Rate and Strategic Direction on the Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate (“KLIBOR”) and the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Reference Rate (“KLIRR”) for the Malaysian Financial Markets discussion paper ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a new rule modernizing the “Stark Law” regulations. The rule aims to advance value-based care and ease the regulatory burden on physicians. Most of the reforms are effective January 2021; however, the rule includes important changes to how physician group practices may share profits that take effect next year ...
The Ministry of Public Security modifies the requirements to request the residence permit for foreigners from specific countries who maintain friendly professional, economic and investment relationship with the Republic of Panama. Panama, May 24, 2021. The Ministry of Public Security through Executive Decree No ...
On May 12, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued for public comments the Several Provisions on Administration of Automobile Data Security (Draft for Comment) (“Draft Provisions”). The Draft Provisions would be the first departmental rules dedicated to addressing data compliance requirements in the automobile industry. Unlike previous draft standards[1] proposed for connected vehicles, the Draft Provisions would apply to vehicles of all types ...
The ethical consumer market in the UK has increased four-fold since 1999, and now is conservatively estimated at over £40bn per annum. Consumers are actively changing their behaviours in favour of more sustainable and ethical choices. As a result, companies are increasingly creating or adapting their offerings to appeal to these consumer preferences ...
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently discussed possible approaches to establishing an interoperating central bank digital currencies (CBDC) arrangement as the future of cross-border payments. Although not an “official” definition, CBDC generally refers to a new form of digital currency issued by a central bank, denominated in an existing unit of account operating as a store of value and a medium of exchange ...
The challenges of addressing COVID-19, government closure orders, the Paycheck Protection Program, Main Street Lending Facilities and digital banking made this past audit season more challenging than most. Not surprisingly, it has given rise to quite a number of potential significant deficiencies.1 Significant deficiencies that are not addressed will no doubt become “material weaknesses ...
While overdraft litigation risks have threatened the financial services industry for some time, recent class action lawsuits have trickled down to community banks. One place in particular where exposure has expanded is the increased willingness of plaintiff’s counsel to challenge the use of form account agreements and disclosures, including reliance on Regulation E’s model consent form ...
For parents, the child maintenance system can seem a vast and complicated system of ropes and pulleys for something they expect should be straightforward. But remember, the Child Maintenance Service (“CMS”), formerly known as the Child Support Agency, is a huge machine with a vast caseload. This unfortunately means that the system does not always work as it should. To help parents, we have set out our top tips for dealing with child maintenance below. 1 ...