South Africa has a rapidly evolving climate change policy environment, which is in-keeping with the country¡¦s view of itself as a developing country leader in the climate change arena. Part of the policy environment includes attention to financial mechanisms that can be marshaled in support of the response to climate change ...
Numerous corporate governance scandals over the past 15 years involving S-chips have tarred these mainland-operating, Singapore-listed companies with the same brush. But do all S-chips deserve their bad reputation?It was meant to be one of the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) success stories. One of our biggest skincare companies, Best World International saw its profits grow almost 40 fold between 2013 and 2017. It was valued at S$1.8 billion at its peak in February 2019 ...
Following announcements during the 2021-22 Budget by the Finance Secretary Paul Chan, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued on 10 May 2021 details of the grant scheme available for Hong Kong open-ended fund companies (OFCs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) ...
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force on July 1, 2020 replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that has been in force since 1994. The USMCA has a sunset provision providing that investors may continue using NAFTA’s dispute resolution mechanism for NAFTA legacy investments for up to three years after NAFTA’s termination, i.e., until June 30, 2023 ...
Updated on 8 January 2024.Food law is extensively harmonized throughout the EU, but national law still has a role to play. In this short article, we look at three developments in Belgian food law that have taken place in 2023: the amendments to the Food Safety Agency’s administrative fining regime, the introduction of nutrivigilance, and the announced revision of the food hygiene legislation.1 ...
The past two years have seen significant growth in the number of mergers and acquisitions nationwide with many agriculture and farming business owners choosing to liquefy their assets and move on. At the same time, employers have had to cope with numerous challenges that have made the task of hiring and preparing I-9s for new employees more difficult. Some employers (unlawfully) stopped preparing I-9s for new hires altogether ...
Perhaps, one of the facts which creates the highest expectations among those of us who manage the second or third defense line is risk materialization. That is to say, for a risk to become an event and generate some kind of impact. And from there on, the possibility of verifying the effectiveness of the controls designed, the residual risk and feeding back the matrix ...
Many companies have a keen interest in recycling and upcycling old products for resale, both for environmental and promotional purposes. But when those products contain third-party intellectual property, there can be trademark and copyright concerns. Dinsmore intellectual property partner Karen Gaunt wrote about this topic for Best Lawyers' Women in Law issue, out this month. Gaunt herself has been named a Best Lawyer multiple times since 2013. An excerpt of the article is below ...
The Trump Administration has followed up on the President’s speech in Miami regarding U.S. policy toward Cuba by announcing new restrictions on trade with Cuba that became effective at the end of 2017. At the heart of the new policy is a “Cuba Restricted List” in which the State Department names 180 Cuban entities with which new commercial relations are to be prohibited ...
Over the last years merger control in the UK has evolved considerably. Leaving aside the move from a public interest to a competition test, the OFT has overhauled its procedures and processes with the stated aim of retaining a first class merger regime in world of change ...
Since March 2020, the United States and Canada have agreed upon mutually reciprocal COVID-19 related travel restrictions. U.S. and Canadian officials mutually determined that “non-essential” travel between the U.S. and Canada “poses additional risk of transmission and spread of the virus associated with COVID-19 and places the populace of both nations at increased risk of contracting the virus associated with COVID-19 ...
Since March 2020, the United States and Canada have agreed upon mutually reciprocal COVID-19 related travel restrictions. U.S. and Canadian officials mutually determined that “non-essential” travel between the U.S. and Canada “poses additional risk of transmission and spread of the virus associated with COVID-19 and places the populace of both nations at increased risk of contracting the virus associated with COVID-19 ...
On April 2, President Trump moved to use the Defense Production Act of 1950 (“DPA”) to expand the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to intervene in the private sector to order and prioritize production of supplies and equipment needed to address the coronavirus pandemic ...
At Christmas, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) consisting of 1256 pages was finally agreed between the EU and the UK. Crucially, the Agreement is between the EU and UK only and not the EU and its member states and the UK. The TCA establishes a free trade area for goods and services, in accordance with the WTO law. Both sides can apply trade remedies as is usual for free trade agreements such as on condition anti-dumping duties, anti-subsidy duties, and economic safeguards ...
At Christmas, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) consisting of 1256 pages was finally agreed between the EU and the UK. Crucially, the Agreement is between the EU and UK only and not the EU and its member states and the UK. The TCA establishes a free trade area for goods and services, in accordance with the WTO law. Both sides can apply trade remedies as is usual for free trade agreements such as on condition anti-dumping duties, anti-subsidy duties, and economic safeguards ...
The Tenant Farming Commissioner’s Code of Practice on the Conduct of Rent Reviews contains a useful summary of the law applicable to rent reviews and provides recommended steps for the conduct of the rent review itself. If the rent can’t be agreed by simple discussion or exchange of letters then the Code of Practice sets out a timetable that the parties should follow unless both parties have agreed otherwise ...
On 20 May 2020, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China issued the Circular on Supporting the Development of New Forms of Trade (Circular). The Circular summarised previous pilot experiences and, established foreign exchange (forex) policies that are meant to optimise new forms of trade[1]. The Circular has been implemented since the date of its promulgation ...
In the history of the Eurozone crisis, Spain has been a special case. It was always the "teachers pet" when it came to sovereign debt, that is, until recently. On 9 June 2012, Spain received an offer of up to EUR 100 bn in financial support from the EU for its ailing banking sector. What does that mean for Spain and the rest of the Eurozone and how did Europe’s fourth-largest economy find itself in this state? BACKGROUND Spain has been unlucky in many respects ...
We bemoan the lacklustre stock exchange and complain that the government isn’t doing enough. We point to greener trading pastures in Hong Kong. Is it time to re-look at the role of the stock market and how we benchmark ourselves?This February,Bloombergpublished an article headlined The Incredible Shrinking Singapore Stock Market, which stated that overthe past five years, more companies had exited than joined the SGX, leading the bourse to suffer a net outflow of S$19 ...
February marks the start of the second month after Brexit materializing. The Member States have finally understood that the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer in the Europen Union (EU) so that the fairy-tale of the Single Market that has lasted for decades is now over. Although many businesses resolved various legal or regulatory issues before 1st January, new challenges inevitably keep arising now, when Brexit is a reality ...
Kochhar & Co- India- The Reserve Bank of India Simplifies Procedures in respect of Transfer of Shares/ Convertible Debentures by way of sale by a resident to a non-resident Under Indian exchange control laws, the transfer of shares, by way of sale, by a resident to a non-resident (i.e ...
In line with the state policy set out in the Philippines Constitution to recognise the indispensable role of the private sector in national growth, encourage private enterprise and provide incentives to attract needed investment, the Philippine government has long resorted to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address problems of national interest ...
In the lead up to the Expo 2020, the UAE government has taken a number of measures to promote economic diversification, foster growth, and stimulate the region’s innovation environment. The government’s push to develop the private equity, venture capital, and start-up eco-system is a central component of this agenda ...
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) ...
Most of the attention at this week's ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Manila focused on the failure of ASEAN to reach a definitive approach on establishing a human rights body for the grouping. The proposed ASEAN Charter is supposed to address human rights concerns through this new entity. Perhaps given the diversity in governance standards among members, this was to be expected ...
