Episode 21: COP26 Key Takeaways for Sovereign Wealth Funds
In this episode of FInsight, Andrew Hedges and Kay She from Baker McKenzie’s EMI group in London discuss their experience and observations while on the ground in Glasgow. They cover business imperatives and challenges affecting the global economy and how sovereign wealth funds are well-positioned to influence and make an impact on broader sustainability goals and action plans. As discussions on climate-related issues evolve from commitments to execution in the recent COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, we unpack some of the key takeaways relevant for sovereign wealth funds.

In the aftermath of COVID-19 and the resulting low-yielding environment, sovereign actors are looking more than ever to real estate, infrastructure, private equity, private debt and other alternative assets for strategic investment opportunities.

Following a recent announcement of the European Commission’s proposal for a three-month deferral of reporting deadlines under the new DAC6 mandatory disclosure regime in the EU and UK, the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER) has now reached an agreement on a revised proposal which could possibly defer the reporting deadline for six months. On the basis that the draft Directive, once approved, may be adopted at the discretion of each member state, it is imperative that businesses do not delay in preparing to meet their existing compliance obligations should reporting dates not be deferred (or not be deferred in all Member States where they operate).

In the stream of urgent issues to be dealt with in the current situation, where all the usual processes and practices are questioned, and where the uppermost priority is to put people first, it is often difficult to step back and identify exactly what tax actions need to be taken…

A decree dated 6 January 2020 has updated the list of non-cooperative states and territories (NCST), within the meaning of article 238-0 A of the French Tax Code (FTC). This list, which had not been updated since 8 April 2016, has been extensively overhauled: with the exception of Panama, all…