On Tuesday 25 May 2021 at its regular weekly meeting, the Thai Cabinet approved the Department of Land Transport’s draft Ministerial Regulation (“Regulation”) that will open the way for ride-hailing companies to register for an operating license. This will allow drivers to register their personal vehicles (with a maximum capacity of seven people) as taxis to be used with such ride-hailing applications ...
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause unprecedented disruption in Asia with lockdowns currently in place in Bangladesh and the Lao PDR Meanwhile, various restrictions continue to affect Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam resulting in continued economic uncertainty and delays in re-opening borders for travel and business purposes ...
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 ...
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 ...
1. What are the rules on the exclusion of land in the computation of the PhP100 million threshold on total assets in order to qualify for the reduced corporate income tax rate of 20% under the CREATE Law? The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 62-2021 dated April 30, 2021 (RMC No. 62-2021) to clarify certain provisions of Revenue Regulations No. 5-2021 relative to corporate income taxation under Republic Act No ...
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 ...
On May 11, 2021, the Cabinet resolved that the proposed amendments of the Public Limited Companies Act, B.E. 2535 (1992) (the “PLCA”) be made, mainly due to technological advancements that allow certain corporate administrative procedures to now be conducted by electronic means. For ease of reference, the table below highlights the proposed amendments against the existing corresponding provisions under the PLCA. No. Topic Current Provision Proposed Amendment 1 ...
On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a proposal (Proposed Regulations) which is described as the “first-ever legal framework on [Artificial Intelligence]”, aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Proposed Regulations are of general interest because they constitute a first attempt to “regulate” AI properly and, if implemented, may become influential worldwide ...
In April 2020, we reported on the first cases that were conducted remotely via video conferencing facilities (VCF) during the court closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. More than a year has passed and, although Covid-19 is still posing challenges, the courts have reopened and continue to embrace technology to facilitate social distancing ...
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) ...
On 14 May 2021, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice and the Vice-President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) signed a record of meeting concerning mutual recognition of and assistance to insolvency proceedings between the courts of Mainland China and Hong Kong (Record of Meeting), which signifies the consensus on the mutual recognition of and assistance to insolvency proceedings between the two jurisdictions in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and with a view to p
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 digital transformation experienced over the last number of years has resulted in unprecedented global economic and societal changes. This has resulted in global debates around international tax and the digital economy and whether the existing international tax rules, developed in a “brick-and-mortar” economic environment more than a century ago, remain appropriate for the modern global economy ...
With the continuation of the Prime Minister’s orders on measures for COVID-19 prevention and control until 4 June 2021, we have pulled together a guide on some of the current Government initiatives and support available to businesses in the Lao PDR. In our guide, we provide details on: Banking & Finance: The latest credit policies and guidelines for commercial banks and financial institutions ...
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 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 following enhancements have been made to the Money Lenders Licence Licensing Conditions with effect from 16 March 2021: Revision of Condition 9 (content of advertisements by money lenders) to provide that advertisements published by money lenders should be fair and reasonable and not contain misleading information ...
Following the latest creditors’ meetings on May 12 and May 19, 2021, Kudun and Partners is pleased to announce that Thai Airways Public Company Limited (THAI)’s business rehabilitation plan and its amendment proposal has been widely accepted by the majority of THAI’s creditors ...
In light of the continuing COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia and the various regulations issued by the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”), there are certain key considerations with respect to employee entitlements that employers will need to be prepared and address, as outlined below. 1 ...
The world is in an upheaval now with the pandemic raging for over a year. The discussions and decisions that probably would never have been made a few years ago are being made today in the interest of the greater good and the public at large. When Bill Gates expressed his reservations against lifting IP protection on vaccine patents, it left the world reeling and his comments understandably criticised by experts and laymen alike ...
The third wave of COVID-19 is now spreading all over Thailand. The rise in confirmed numbers of cases and deaths has been reported by the Centre for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (“CCSA”). In response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Public Health announced a vaccination plan which ultimately aims to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infections by having around 50 million people (roughly 70% of the population) in Thailand vaccinated by the end of the year ...
As cryptocurrency and digital assets enter mainstream markets, the business world will have to come to grips with the nature of this new asset class. Silk Road was an Internet black market (known as the Dark Web) notorious for trading contraband, including illicit drugs. These transactions are anonymous, being settled in Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that bypasses traditional payment modes that allow authorities to identify parties ...
