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On 7 February 2024, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) issued several investment promotion measures under the announcements as follows: 1) Investment Promotion Measure for Social and Local Development 2) Retention and Expansion Program 3) Relocation Program 4) Investment Stimulation Measure for Economic Recovery

On 13 February 2024, the Minister for Communications announced the Terms of Reference for the upcoming independent review into the operation of the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) (OSA). For more information about other recent developments in the Australian online safety roll-out.
The Review is required by section 239A of the OSA, and will examine the effectiveness of the OSA, and consider whether additional protections are needed to prevent the publication and spread of harmful online material.

The Ministry of Commerce has launched a public hearing relating to the draft ministerial regulation regarding the businesses which will be exempted from the requirement to obtain a Foreign Business License or Foreign Business Certificate. For this initial public hearing, approximately 11 businesses have been proposed to be exempted, with the aim to attract foreign investors and promote investments in Thailand.

To facilitate and support Thai residents’ offshore investments through local licensed intermediaries, the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a new notification to amend requirements on the existing Collaboration Scheme between Thai Intermediaries and offshore financial institutions in offering investments in offshore securities and derivatives denominated in foreign currencies to investors based in Thailand, effective from 16 February 2024.

On 18 January 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the new Law No. 32/2024/QH15 on Credit Institutions (“New Law”) at the fifth extraordinary meeting of the National Assembly. The New Law will have a major impact on the development of the banking sector in Vietnam.

The New Law will come into effect and replace the Current Law from 1 July 2024, except for the provisions on enforcement of security over real estate, which will take effect from 1 January 2025, and certain transitional provisions regarding the operation of credit institutions.

On 8 February 2024, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong (FSTB) released a public consultation (“Consultation”) on legislative proposals to introduce a licensing regime (“Proposed Regime”) for providers of over-the-counter (OTC) trading services of virtual assets (VA). The Proposed Regime will be regulated by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise. The Consultation represents the latest step in the city to further enhance the VA regulatory framework as outlined by the Hong Kong Government in its 2022 Policy Statement on Development of VA in Hong Kong.

On 2 January 2024, the President of the Republic of Indonesia signed Law No. 1 of 2024 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions (“EIT Law”) (“Amendment Law”). The Amendment Law was enacted and became effective on the same day. The Amendment Law covers some new provisions that seem to push for localization and domestic protection, such as the requirement for e-certification service providers to be domiciled in Indonesia and the requirement for international electronic contracts to be governed by Indonesian Law. The Amendment Law also elaborates on the prohibited acts under the EIT Law, and contains new provisions on government intervention.

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) recently issued NPC Circular No. 2024-01 (“Circular”), which amends certain provisions of the 2021 Rules of Procedure. The Circular aims to further streamline the process of receiving complaints and instituting investigations on matters affecting any personal information. The amendments impose certain requirements in case of privacy violation complaints by minors or persons alleged to be incompetent.

Investigations are an essential tool for ensuring a company’s ethical standards are being followed by employees, business partners, and any others with whom the company interacts. However, investigations are also an essential tool for demonstrating and maintaining strong corporate governance – an integral part of a company’s ESG commitments and strategy. It is also a good time to set yourself some goals and resolutions. To help you on your way, we are pleased to share our top 5 Lunar New Year Resolutions for handling Internal or Government Investigations