A new report by Shoosmiths, in partnership with Beauhurst, shows that the number of venture capital ‘megadeals’ in the UK has increased tenfold over the last decade. In 2011 a modest five ‘megadeals’ (where £50 million or more is invested into a company) occurred, compared with an astounding 51 megadeals in the first half of 2021 ...
In seeking to address the impact of climate change within Hong Kong’s fund management industry, the SFC has introduced new climate-related regulatory requirements for fund managers in relation to disclosures and to their investment risk and management processes. In this ten-minute podcast, Jeremy Lam outlines key features of the new regime, the timeframe for implementation and how best to plan ahead ...
as published in the Fall 2021 issue of West Virginia Banker magazine As the world (hopefully) comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic later this year, the way we conduct business is changing. The banking industry, described by one commentator as “the most old-school of the old-school professions,” is criticized as being resistant to change. As one article described it, “the fundamental ways that financial institutions function have not changed with the times ...
Key Points As litigation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) continues to drive lengthier and costlier environmental reviews, the use of "categorical exemptions" can provide a quick and efficient path towards CEQA compliance – but only if the exemption is legally sound and defensible. California's Fifth District Court of Appeal recently published Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. County of Inyo (Cal. Ct. App., Aug. 17, 2021, No ...
Businesses in Thailand are facing a difficult road ahead. The latest wave of COVID-19 infections continues to hammer the economy, further delaying a recovery that many companies were counting on to relieve their financial woes. Those struggles have been considerable. According to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), Thailand’s gross domestic product shrank by 6.1% in 2020 – the steepest decline since the Tom Yum Kung financial crisis of 1997 ...
In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, new measures were approved to enable companies to increase their cash flows. Payments on account (FY2021) Taxpayers who are cooperatives or have obtained in the 2020 fiscal period a turnover up to the maximum limit set for their classification as medium-sized enterprises (i.e ...
On September 2, 2021, Resolution of the Board of Directors Nº 017-2021-OEFA/CD (the “Resolution”) was published in the Official Gazette El Peruano, which amends the Regulation of the environmental emergency report of the activities under the purview of the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement- OEFA ...
Corporate/M&A Amendments to the Main Market Listing Requirements following Enhanced IPO Framework On 11 August 2021, Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Securities”) reviewed the Main Market Listing Requirements (“MMLR”) to ensure parity of regulation with the Securities Commission Malaysia’s (“SC”) introduction of an enhanced initial public offering (“IPO”) framework which took effect on 1 January 2021 ...
This is the first article in 'Back to Basics', a series of articles looking at insolvency processes in Scotland. In this article I examine the court process for winding up a company. A winding up petition is a form of legal action that can be used when a company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Sections 122 to 124 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (‘the Act’) deal with how to wind up a company in Scotland ...
Regulation 603/2021 was approved by the Governing Board of the Institute of Public Markets, Real Estate and Construction I.P. (“IMPIC”) and came into force on 5 July 2021. The aim of this regulation (“Regulation”) is to establish and regulate the procedures to be adopted in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in the real estate sector ...
In a sign that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to ramp up its enforcement efforts, the SEC last week in In re: Healthcare Services Group Inc. charged a health care services company and its chief financial officer and controller as part of the Division of Enforcement's Earnings Per Share, or EPS, Initiative. A Sept ...
Since the G7 meeting on 5 June when the G7 finance ministers announced a global corporation tax of at least 15%, there has been much written and spoken about the new proposed global minimum tax rate. Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, called the agreement a “historic day for economic diplomacy” ...
The Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (“DFFE”) recently published a notice inviting consultation on her intention to publish a National Guideline for Consideration of Climate Change Implications in Applications for Environmental Authorisations, Atmospheric Emission Licences and Waste Management Licences (the “Guideline”) ...
On August 31st, 2021, with 64 votes the Congress approved the Law regarding the Creation of the Bitcoin Trust (“FIDEBITCOIN”), by means of which a trust is constituted in the Development Bank of the Republic of El Salvador (“BANDESAL”), to benefit the users of the National Wallet, represented by the Republic of El Salvador, whose purpose will be to support the alternatives for bitcoin convertibility provided by the Salvadoran Government ...
There are indirect, and potential direct, implications for lending transactions from the Pension Schemes Act 2021. Both lenders and borrowers, as well as pensions trustees, have an interest in knowing what's changed and how that might impact their deals. The Act received Royal Assent on 11 February 2021 and updates the Pensions Act 2004. It primarily relates to funding and security of Defined Benefit or ‘Final Salary’ Schemes (‘DB Schemes’) ...
Margin ratchets are a concept that the banking and finance world are familiar with. Increasingly these are linked to ESG loans with both lender and borrower engagement. How do they work in practice, what are the benefits and what are the potential risks? Typically margin ratchets are linked to financial covenants – more often than not leverage – they incentivise borrowers to improve their financial health over the life of a loan ...
On May 21, 2020, the Commission adopted amendments to the financial statement disclosure requirements for business acquisitions and dispositions by Commission registrants that also apply to companies undertaking an initial public offering. The amendments resulted from the Commission staff’s ongoing evaluation of Regulation S-X and Regulation S-K as part of its Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative and were proposed by the Commission in May 2019 ...
On August 27, 2021, the Regulation of the Bitcoin Law (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette of El Salvador. The Regulations will enter into force on September 8, one day after the entry into force of the Bitcoin Law ...
The objectives in brief The Government would like to see the aquaculture industry grow, provided that it can do so in a sustainable manner. Statistics produced by the Directorate of Fisheries show that Norway produced and sold a total of just under 1.5 million tonnes of rainbow trout, trout and Atlantic salmon in 2020 ...
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced details of requirements for fund managers to address climate change in their investment and risk management processes and make appropriate disclosures. Where are the requirements set out? On 20 August 2021, the SFC issued: Consultation Conclusions on the Management and Disclosure of Climate-related Risks by Fund Managers with amendments to the Fund Manager Code of Conduct (FMCC) set out in Appendix B and C ...
We are still waiting for the “official” SBA FAQ announcing the withdrawal of the Forms 3509/3510 Loan Necessity Questionnaire (“Questionnaire”) that, according to the SBA, will include additional information about its review process. In the meantime, PPP lenders have been told by the SBA that they no longer are required to request that borrowers who obtained loans of $2 million or more complete the Questionnaire ...
