Our Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Team is pleased to provide you with our second quarterly update for 2022 highlighting key employment law changes across the Asia Pacific region.
On 26 August 2022, the Minister of Human Resources announced a delay to the implementation date of the amendments to the Malaysian Employment Act. The amendments to the EA were originally anticipated to take effect on 1 September 2022, but this has reportedly been deferred to 1 January 2023. The Minister had clarified that this delay would allow employers to focus, in the short term, on recovering from the difficult economic situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This would also, practically, provide a longer runway for employers to assess their employment benefits for compliance under the amended EA.
Effective 1 September 2022, substantial amendments will be made to the Employment Act 1955. From 1 September 2022, all employees in Malaysia will be entitled to protection under the Act, except for certain identified sections of the Act.
Following the issuance of the Exposure Draft of the Bancassurance/Bancatakful Policy Document on 30 August 2021, Bank Negara Malaysia has issued the final Bancassurance/Bancatakaful Policy Document on 30 June 2022. The objectives of the Policy Document are to: ensure bancassurance/bancatakaful remains as a viable and accessible channel for consumers to purchase insurance and takaful products; promote sound market conduct practices that safeguard consumers’ interest through needs-based sales, disclosure and enhanced transparency; and promote market competitiveness and preserve consumer choice.
Amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (“Act”) have been long overdue. On 30 March 2022, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed in Dewan Negara (Senate). The amendments have not come into force and there is currently no indication as to when this might happen.
Baker McKenzie and the Financial Times co-created a multimedia series, the FT Big Deal, to explore new trends shaping transactions and how to unlock value. In this series, Baker McKenzie lawyers are joined by industry thought leaders to discuss the key developments and issues shaping the future of global transactions.
Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, has on 15 December 2021 issued an exposure draft of the Payment System Operator policy document. The PSO Exposure Draft is intended to apply to all approved operators of a payment system under the Malaysian Financial Services Act 2013 and Malaysian Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. The objectives of the PSO Exposure Draft are to: (i) ensure the safety, efficiency and reliability of payment systems; (ii) preserve public confidence in the payment systems and the use of payment instruments; and (iii) ensure payment systems are aligned with relevant international standards.
On 4 January 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, issued the Licensing Framework for Digital Insurers and Takaful Operators Discussion Paper. The DITO Discussion Paper outlines the newly proposed regulatory framework applicable to digital insurers and takaful operators. The document represents the next phase of BNM’s initiative to encourage digitalization within the financial sector, and follows the Licensing Framework for Digital Banks issued by BNM on 31 December 2020.
On 28 December 2021, the Securities Commission of Malaysia revised the Rules on Take-overs, Mergers and Compulsory Acquisitions (Rules). The effective date of the revisions is 29 December 2021. This Alert focuses on the key amendments introduced to the Rules and a comparison against equivalent provisions under the United Kingdom’s Takeover Code, the Singapore Code on Take-Overs and Mergers and the Hong Kong Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Buy-Backs.
Baker McKenzie and the Financial Times co-created a podcast series, the FT Big Deal, to examine the trends behind complex cross-border transactions. In this four-part podcast series, Baker McKenzie lawyers are joined by industry thought leaders to discuss the key developments and issues shaping the future of global transactions.