On 18 October 2007, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular which allows delegation of investment management functions by managers of authorised funds to affiliates not based in an Acceptable Inspection Regime (AIR), subject to certain requirements being met. Previously the fund management company of an SFC authorised fund, and all of its delegates with investment discretion, had to be based in Hong Kong or an AIR ...
This newsletter intends to provide our colleagues and friends with a rapid overview of the reforms that recently occurred in Portugal within commercial and corporate law, in respect of the debureaucratization of the treatment of commercial companies. I. ReformsThus, a substantial range of amendments has been implemented in the last years, with the purpose of simplifying the commercial companies’ incorporation, registration, merger, division, etc. procedures ...
IFLR Taiwan M&A SummaryJuly 20, 2007IntroductionAs Taiwan heads into an election year in 2008 and beyond, market observers may look back at the last 12 months as an important watershed period for the modernization of Taiwan’s financial sector. There is abundant and growing interest from foreign investors, particularly private equity investors, and mergers and acquisitions, together with other domestic and cross-border deal-making, are at an all time high ...
The Environmental Liability Directive aims to establish a common framework of environmental liability across the EU to prevent and remedy certain types of environmental damage. The framework is based on the “polluter pays principle”. The implementation date for member states was 30 April 2007. Ireland has not complied with this transposition date and will not have transposed it as a current estimate until early 2008 ...
HIGH LIGHTS• the Code also applies to in-house counsel;• non-compliance may result in disciplinary sanctions;• failure to comply with the standards established by the Code could constitute civil wrongs or “faults” resulting in contractual liability (towards the employer) and even extracontractual liability (towards third parties with whom the lawyer negotiates on behalf of the organization);• concept of client: difference between the representative of the client or in-house c
On July 11, 2007 the European Court of First Instance (“CFI”) ruled that Schneider Electric SA should be compensated for some of the losses suffered following the European Commission’s unlawful prohibition of its merger with Legrand SA in 2001.[2] The CFI’s decision is undoubtedly historic. It is the first case in which damages have been awarded against the Commission for getting a merger wrong ...
On May 7th, 2007, the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned the certification of a major pension class proceeding in Ruddell v. BC Rail Ltd., 2007 BCCA 269. In doing so, the court ruled that BC Rail had properly invoked its right to have the dispute determined by arbitration. The court found that, in the circumstances of this case, arbitration took precedence over the class proceeding, which had to be stayed ...
On 16 March 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China. The Law harmonises the tax laws applicable to foreign and domestic enterprises. The new law marks a major change in PRC tax policy. Effective 1 January 2008, both domestic enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) will be subject to income tax at the unified rate of 25% ...
On 6 February 2007, the State Council promulgated the Regulations for the Administration of Commercial Franchising Operations. Although not stated in the Regulations, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) has indicated that the Measures for the Administration of Commercial Franchising Operations, issued on 30 December 2004 (as discussed in the 2005.1 issue of China Legal Update), will be repealed on the Regulations’ effective date, 1 May 2007 ...
The State Administration of Taxation issued the Measures on the Self- Declaration of Personal Income Tax (Trial Implementation) on 6 November 2006. The Measures cover the filing process for those who satisfy one of the following conditions:1. Annual income of 120,000RMB or more; 2. Wages or stipends earned from two or more sources within China; 3. Income earned outside China; 4. Any acquired taxable income without withholding; 5 ...
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) issued the Measures for the Administration of the Takeover of Listed Companies on 17 May 2006. Effective 1 September 2006, the Measures cover both takeovers and significant share acquisition activities in listed companies. The Measures apply to acquisitions by investors of listed companies. They impose disclosure and tender offer obligations upon investors crossing certain shareholding thresholds ...
On 27 November 2006, the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation jointly issued the Notice Regarding Several Stamp Tax Policies. The Notice states that:1. Stamp tax will be levied on contracts submitted electronically. 2. Stamp tax will be levied on purchase and sale contracts between power plants and power grid networks and on those between two power grid networks ...
A director should seriously consider resigning in the following situations:• in the case of a material contravention of the law or violation of the corporation’s by-laws, its shareholders agreement or the corporation’s undertakings, if the contravention is not rectified promptly;• in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency, if the director is unable to obtain adequate protection from the trustee, the corporation’s creditors or other third parties;• if the corporation or the Boar
Private Actions in Competition Law: Effective Redress for Consumers and BusinessResponse by Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP1. Introduction1.1 Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP welcomes the opportunity to comment on the issues raised by the OFT in its April 2007 Discussion Paper: Private Actions in Competition law: Effective Redress for Consumers and Business (the Discussion Paper). 1 ...
Since we are in the season for the distribution of dividends, it is not without use to review and update, our last charter on this issue. It shall be recalled that in 2005 the Portuguese tax system streamlined its rules for the taxation of dividends, by harmonising rates which previously varied in accordance to the nature of the recipient of the dividends ...
Ten years ago, we would not have been discussing this topic with the Chairman of the then Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Ten years ago, the MMC was a very different animal from today's Competition Commission. Ten years ago, the MMC was largely outside of the daily media spotlight, less transparent and much closer to government ...
Romania¡¦s yearly economic growth has triggered in the past few years an increased interest for investment in the existing domestic companies. Most of the financial investors seek to leverage their acquisitions and expect the possibility to use the target companies¡¦ assets to such purpose. This article will briefly review corporate limits and prevailing interpretation.Prohibition of financial assistanceRomania has implemented the provisions of art ...
The purpose of this article is to provide a short update as to the legal and policy developments in the area of private enforcement of competition law. Regulatory scrutiny and judicial developments continue to be principally focussed on the issue of follow-on damages actions for infringements of competition law, especially in the cartel arena. However, as can be seen in the English High Court's recent judgement in SanDisk Corporation vs ...
In a previous article on this site , I suggested that the impact of Placanica was to leave the national courts in a bit of a hole ...
Enforcement of competition law by means of private actions (particularly private damages actions) is a hot topic. The European Commission has a stated policy objective of encouraging private actions and, at the UK level, private actions are becoming more prevalent in both the courts and before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. In particular, the English High Court's decision in Provimi has led to England being seen as an attractive jurisdiction for damages claims ...
With competition authorities across Europe increasingly keen to demonstrate their toughness when it comes to market-sharing and price-fixing, cartel-busting is very much flavour of the month. The European Commission is imposing larger and larger fines in order to ramp up its cartel-busting activities ...
Currently Romania’s market is characterized by the implementation of two seemingly opposite sets of actions, one aimed at ensuring Romania’s transition to the market economy and the achievement of economic growth, while the other is targeting the environmental protection through promotion of energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources for electricity generation ...
The Companies Act 2006, which is likely to come into force towards the end of 2007, represents the first attempt to codify directors' duties in UK law. In broad terms, a director's duties currently include the requirement to exercise reasonable skill, care and judgement, not to exceed the powers given to him/her, to avoid conflicts of interest and to act in good faith and in the interests of the company ...
