Financial Information Units (FIUs) are agencies created according to FATF-GAFI recommendations that receive reports of suspicious transactions from financial institutions and other persons and entities, analyze them, and disseminate the ensuing intelligence to local law-enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs in order to fight against money laundering and terrorism. The Argentine FIU is controlled by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights ...
On January 24, 2011 the Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Brazil signed a document restricting the powers of ANVISA (Brazil’s regulatorybody) in the examination of pharmaceutical applications, giving the rights to the Brazilian PTO to do so without any interference of ANVISA. The dispute between ANVISA and the Brazilian PTO in the examination of pharmaceutical applications had apparently been solved ...
According to the provisions of Law 18,131, as of December 31 of each year, all taxpayers should compare the contributions actually made to the National Health Fund ( hereinafter "FONASA" ) with the annual cap filler ( hereinafter "STOP ANNUAL " ) ...
A new Regulation on Corporations has recently entered into force in Chile (the “New Regulation”). It aims essentially to complement the provisions of the Law on Corporations, updating the rules established in the prior Regulation on Corporations, clarifying or specifying certain articles that raised questions, adjusting the applicable provisions to the latest legal amendments and making certain practical aspects easier ...
In September, the National Customs and Tax Authority - DIAN - presented the third draft of the new Customs Statute, which will regulate most of Colombia’s customs law. Although scholars and business associations have presented their comments to the project, the draft seems to be definitive for the most part ...
As you may well be aware of, the Manta Multipurpose Deepwater Terminal Concession project was awarded to Hutchison by November 17, 2006. I personally assisted Hutchison in the process, from the time immediately after tendering its offer to the time the concession agreement was executed. then, Hutchison took its own path and, eventually, the relationship between the Port Authority and Hutchison was over ...
Mobilizing the Money: A New Investment Program President Dilma Rousseff has launched an ambitious investment program in infrastructure, transport, logistics, and energy that will cost US$ 235 billion. The president and the entire government have been mobilized in the search for these investments, from domestic, foreign, public, and private sources ...
Purchases of shares or assets of the target companyPurchases of shares are relatively free of restrictions unless the target company is a public corporation (namely, a company that has its shares registered with the Chilean securities and insurance regulator, the SVS), one of the parties to the transaction participates in a regulated industry or the entity resulting from a business combination raises competition issues ...
I OVERVIEWChile continues to offer an attractive business environment. Chile was the first Latin American economy to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and is party to dozens of free trade agreements (including with the United States, the European Union, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil) ...
Mining Industry 1. What is the nature and importance of the mining industry in your country?The mining industry accounts for 13 per cent of the GDP and 62.6 per cent of Chile’s total exports (US$49.3 billion). Chile is the largest producer of copper (31.9 per cent) in the world market and also produces other metals, such as silver and gold, and many non-metallic substances. The mining industry is mainly owned by private foreign and national companies ...
The passion Brazilians have for football is nothing new. As children, we learn the game and argue over the rules, which are often anything but black and white and, on occasion, are difficult to apply. That’s true even for referees, who, well into the 21st century, are still barred from employing the full array of technologies available to make their work easier. In contrast to other sports, the rules governing football evolve very slowly ...
Personal data regulation is a recently developed topic in the legal realm. In 1970, the first laws on the matter were issued in Europe and North America. Specifically, the first data protection law called the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz was issued in Germany on October 7, 1970, and the same year the United States Congress issued the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which controls the collection, use and redistribution of any consumer information ...
In a statement issued by the National Regulatory Agency, Control and Surveillance (ARCSA), drugs that are sold in Ecuador must have labels stating the words 'generic', otherwise it can not be marketed as of January 24, 2014 ...
The Board of the Central Bank of Ecuador issued a new rule governing interest rates for late payment, which seeks to encourage timely payment of claims by customers of the institutions of the national financial system.The new rule establishes a scale of percentages to calculate the default rate of up to 10% in credit operations. The settlements will be made only for the amount due of principal and only from the date of non-payment until the day of fulfillment of obligations ...
Jorge Carey:“Analyzing the repeal or modification of DL600 is an issue that can bediscussed” Jorge Carey, who has been involved in several businesses with foreigninvestors, has doubts about a reform, believing that it is not a good idea thatthis type of changes are implemented by a left or center-left governmentsbecause it risks to bring unnecessary (political) noise ...
Law No. 20,715: On protection to debtors of money loans On December 13, Law No. 20,715 was published in the Official Gazette, after an intense debate in the financial industry and over 2 years of discussion in Parliament. The new law modifies Law No. 18,010 on regulations on money loan transactions, Law No. 19,496 on protection of consumer rights and the Chilean Tax Code. In what refers to money loan transactions, Law No ...
Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Paraguay’s government bond rating by one notch to Ba2 from Ba3, and changed the outlook to positive from stable. According to Moody’s, the “decision to upgrade Paraguay’s rating was driven by the following factors: 1. The improving standing of Paraguay’s key fiscal metrics relative to ‘Ba’ peer medians.2. A strengthened institutional framework as a result of the legislation package that was approved last year.3 ...
Investors analysing the possibility to acquire a Chilean corporation should carefully consider the specific structure of corporate control governing most of the legal entities in Chile, since it strongly determines the way mergers and acquisitions are carried out in this country ...
The Central Bank of Brazil initiated a public hearing on 6 February to facilitate foreign investment. The Internet-delivered hearing will end on 7 April. The idea is to include under a single normative act the scattered provisions relating to fixed and variable income investment, as well as to portfolio investment. The measure is one of initiatives taken by the Central Bank within its Otimiza-BC program of cost reduction ...
On February 28, 2014, the Colombian Government issued Decree 456 of 2014, whereby it established special tariffs applicable to the imports of clothing and shoes. The measure is a compound ad valorem (10%) and specific tariff (US$5) for imports of products classified under chapters 61, 62 and 62 of the Colombian Tariff Code, with prices under US$10 per kilogram, and to imports of products classified under chapter 64, with prices under US$7 per pair ...
As you no doubt already know, the Pharmaceutical Industry in Argentina is a strictly controlled industry. Said control is held by the ANMAT Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica) and it spreads from the first authorisation of a laboratory to act as such in the country, moving through the authorisations to commercialise products, up to pharmacovigilance of products that have already been commercialised ...
NEW CVM DECISION SIMPLIFIES TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC EQUITY (PIPEs) At a meeting held on January 7, 2014, the majority of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (“CVM”) Board (Colegiado) accepted the appeal lodged by João Fortes Engenharia S.A., within the context of CVM Proceeding No ...