The recently introduced Pension Protection Act 2006 makes two important changes to the definition of the term "plan assets" for the purposes of ERISA. The new legislation continues to provide that the assets of a fund or other entity will not constitute "plan assets" and will therefore not be subject to the fiduciary obligations under ERISA if less than 25% of the value of each class of equity in the entity is held by "benefit plan investors" ...
By January 2007 all EU members are supposed to adopt MiFID, including its implementation measures published in June 2006. Firms carrying out investment services will then have to comply with it by November 2007. MiFID should greatly facilitate EU cross-border activities since passported firms will no longer be subject to prudential regulation in each country where they provide services but only by their home country ...
In the recent Feedback Statement (FS06/2) from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) to its Discussion Paper entitled "Hedge funds: A discussion of risk and regulatory engagement", the FSA identified the use of side letters as an area of concern where a market failure may be present, thus potentially requiring regulatory intervention by the FSA ...
The SFC has recently published a guide to the information required to be submitted to the SFC in relation to risk management and control processes by fund managers seeking approval to use the expanded investment powers under UCITS III (Guide). The Guide sets out the items and areas relating to the risk management and control process that the SFC normally expects to be provided in order to give the SFC an understanding of the risk management processes of the relevant UCITS III funds ...
The People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, recently announced principle policies for the financial services sector on outbound investments in overseas markets by Chinese nationals and corporations. These policies are generally regarded as the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) program in the market ...
On 1 March 2004, the Provisional Administrative Rules Governing Derivative Activities of Financial Institutions were implemented by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (the "CBRC") and constituted the first set of substantive regulations governing the derivatives business in China ...
Shareholders with a substantial interest in a listed company are required to disclose their shareholdings in order to improve market transparency, prevent insider trading, and facilitate informed investment decisions. In most countries in Asia, initial disclosure is required once a shareholder acquires an interest in 5% of a listed company’s voting shares. In Taiwan and Sri Lanka it is 10% ...
The effects of the singular interpretation of the EC Treaty that the Court of Justice has been reinforcing for many years whilst assessing the compatibility of income tax legislation of the Member States with that Treaty, are now beginning to be felt, and to a considerable degree, here in Portugal ...
Further to the recent amends to the Portuguese Securities Code arising from the implementation of the EU Directives on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and on insider dealing and market manipulation, the Portuguese Securities Exchange Commission (“CMVM”) approved a set of rulings and guidelines1 now creating an overall framework on the new Inside Information regime. I ...
Recently, 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. This, along with the introduction of some provisions aimed at dealing with schemes that used exempt entities to evade tax, helped to turn the taxation of dividends more coherent and simple ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the Philippine Central Bank) recently issued Circular No. 518, s. 2006, which authorizes banks to enter into joint venture agreements (JVA) with real estate development companies for the development of properties acquired by banks in settlement of loans and other advances, either through foreclosure or dacion en pago (ROPAs) ...
The considerable publicity surrounding the new Bankruptcy Act has focused on the impact of the legislation on individuals seeking bankruptcy relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.1 There are also important changes that will have a significant impact on business bankruptcy cases. The new provisions will require suppliers, lenders, debtors, landlords and other constituents to rethink strategies that have previously been routinely employed in business bankruptcy cases ...
Recently, in Clark v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that an employee’s lawsuit for age discrimination under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) was timebarred because of the six-month limitations period contained in the employee’s job application. The court upheld the contractual limitations period at issue even though the ELCRA explicitly provided that an individual has three years to bring a claim under that statute ...
features 1. Modification of the Requirements for banks'shareholders. 2. Fiscal incentives for the development of the Forest Sector. 3. The unconstitutionality of the Bankcruptcy process in Nicaragua. 4. Right of priority. 5. Modernizing Legal procedures in Real Estate transactions. 6. Closing activities in the acquisition of properties. 7 ...
The 'moral hazard' provisions introduced by the Pensions Act 2004 could cause extra headaches for many corporate transactions unless steps are taken early to avoid potential pitfalls. Parties involved in corporate mergers, takeovers or even group restructurings may now need prior clearance from the Pensions Regulator to avoid being potentially liable for contributing towards a deficit in the defined benefit pension scheme of the target or investee company ...
On 2 November 2005, the Legislative Council enacted the Revenue (Abolition of Estate Duty) Ordinance ("RAEDO"). It came into operation on 11 February 2006. RAEDO, among other things: (i) abolishes estate duty as proposed in the 2005 - 2006 Budget; and (ii) empowers the Secretary for Home Affairs ("SHA") to release money from bank accounts of deceased persons and allow inspection of bank safe deposit boxes ...
Under the Rules Governing Offshore Funds of August 2005, private placement of offshore funds may only be offered to: a) banks, bills companies, securities companies, trust companies, insurance companies, financial holding companies or other legal entities or organisation approved by the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC); b) not more than 35 “private investors” ...
The Law Reform Commission (Commission) published a report on 25 October 2005 recommending proposals to reform the doctrine of privity of contract in Hong Kong. The aim of the reform is to allow a person who is not a party to a contract to enforce the contract if that was the intent of the contracting parties. Under the existing doctrine of privity of contract, a person cannot acquire and enforce rights under a contract to which he is not a party ...
Investors, investment managers and others with direct or attributed interests of 5% or more of any Hong Kong listed company are subject to Hong Kong’s substantial shareholder disclosure regime. Inadvertent breaches of the regime are common, largely because of its complexity and investors’ misapprehensions of the requirements. A review of enforcement actions over the last year indicates an increasingly aggressive approach by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) ...
An exemption from “acting in concert” is available under the Hong Kong Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Repurchases (Takeovers Code) to entities within a large financial group which manage investment accounts on a discretionary basis and which maintain acceptable levels of segregation regarding confidential information through Chinese Walls ...
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a Feedback Statement on its discussion paper DP05/4 "Hedge funds: A discussion of risk and regulatory engagement" and has urged firms to focus on the risks posed by side letters "which will remain an area of supervisory focus". Side letters have become a common feature for institutional investors investing in hedge funds with the result that such investors receive preferential treatment and more information than other investors ...
At its Singapore 2006 AGM, ISDA announced the publication of a new set of definitions – the ISDA 2006 Fund Derivative Definitions (Fund Definitions). The Fund Definitions are intended to provide basis terminology for use in confirmations of derivatives transactions linked to interests in various types of pooled investment vehicles, such as hedge funds and mutual funds, for which a liquid secondary market may not exist ...
