Asia-Pacific

As a protective measure against the COVID-19 virus and in line with the directive of the Philippine President to all government offices to issue guidelines on the conduct of proceedings during the time of public health emergency, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) promulgated En Banc Resolution No. 03-20 (Series of 2020), or the "Interim Amendments to the 2011 NLRC Rules of Procedure, as amended."

In a recent Singapore Court of Appeal (“CA”) decision in I-Admin (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Hong Ying Ting and others [2020] SGCA 32 (“I-Admin”), the CA laid out a modified approach for claims relating to breach of confidence, departing from the long standing approach in Singapore, to better take into account the risks suffered by owners of losing confidential information in today’s increasingly digitized society.

On August 17, 2020, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) (i) expanding the Export...

China governs the import and export of technology under the Regulations for the Administration of the Import and Export of Technology (“Technology Regulations“), the...

Following a significant increase in COVID-19 transmissions in recent weeks, the relevant Myanmar authorities have promptly issued additional notifications on top of existing directives to address the developing COVID-19 situation in Myanmar, notably on:  Stay-at-home Orders affecting 7 Townships in Yangon; and Mandatory Quarantine and Testing for visitors/residents travelling to Nay Pyi Taw.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has identified the health and pharmaceuticals industries as one of its priority sectors of enforcement for year 2020. Coupled with the increased demand for improved access to healthcare and affordable medicine resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect the PCC to intensify its monitoring of participants in the Philippine pharmaceutical markets.

The new corporate liability provision under Section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 ("Section 17A") has come into force on 1 June 2020. As highlighted in our earlier client alert (see Link), a company may be held criminally liable under this new provision for acts of bribery committed by its directors, employees or other associated persons.  The only defence available is for the company to prove that it has put in place adequate procedures designed to prevent these corrupt acts.This new corporate liability provision applies not only to Malaysian companies, but also to foreign companies with businesses in Malaysia.

Global supply chain disruption is both a cause and effect of the major global market slowdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This...

Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government Intervention Schemes Guide provides a summary of...

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 20-2020 dated 3 August 2020, amending RR No. 06-2013 in relation to RR No. 06-2008, governing the imposition of tax on the sale, barter, exchange or other disposition of shares of stock not traded through the local stock exchange.