On 27 February 2024, China published the amended Law on Guarding State Secrets, which will take effect on 1 May 2024. The Amended SSL enhances state secrets protection from multiple aspects, together with the Counterespionage Law amended in 2023, the National Security Law, and other national security related laws and regulations.
Following a new regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand defining new characteristics of bills (i.e., bills of exchange and promissory notes) that are considered securities, the Capital Market Supervisory Board of Thailand has amended the requirements for offerings of bills to match the new definition. The new offering requirements will come into effect on 16 March 2024.
In a move to develop Thailand’s position as a regional hub of investment, the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission began a public hearing on the new securities and derivatives business licensing regime on 9 February 2024, designed to increase flexibility and decrease costs for business operators.
The Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) was introduced in Parliament on 8 May 2023 and passed on 5 July 2023. It has commenced in part on 1 February 2024. Under the OCHA, five types of government directions may be issued to deal with criminal online activities. These directions can be issued to communicators of criminal content, online service providers, and internet service providers. Provisions on the issuance of codes of practice and directives in partnership with online services will come into force at a later stage.
The Cyber Security Agency has published a consultation paper on the proposed Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill, which would amend the Cybersecurity Act 2018. The CAB seeks to strengthen the legal framework governing the maintenance of national cybersecurity in Singapore, against the pressing need for legislation to effectively address the fast-developing technological environment.
The implementation of the new Law on Telecommunications, effective on 1 July 2024, requires a decree from the government to provide guidance and further details on various issues. On 2 February 2024, the Ministry of Information and Communications published a draft version of the decree guiding the New Telecom Law to collect public comments. The deadline for public comments is 2 April 2024.
The introduction of the Standard Contract for the Cross-boundary Flow of Personal Information within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Mainland, Hong Kong) (comprising a set of standard contractual clauses, GBA SCC), together with its Implementation Guidelines marks a significant milestone in facilitating cross-border data flows between major cities in Guangdong province and Hong Kong, key cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). It provides an alternative to the existing requirements under the Personal Information Protection Law of the PRC to use one of three methods for transferring personal data outside of mainland China, namely by use of China standard contractual clauses (China SCC), obtaining certification from professional institutions and, if certain types of data are to be transferred or data quantity thresholds are met, submitting to a government-led security assessment review.
In an article published in Tax Notes International, we discuss changes to the foreign-source income exemption regimes of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore including as regards the treatment of certain foreign-source gains.
The transition from the Banking Executive Accountability Regime to the Financial Accountability Regime is due to take place on 15 March 2024 for the banking industry. Companies covered by the regime need to be aware of these changes and ensure relevant documentation, including relating to accountable persons and variable remuneration, is up to date.
The Vietnam Ministry of Public Security (MPS) published on 29 February 2024 its first version of the dossier proposing the development of the Law on Personal Data Protection (“PDP Law”) on the government’s official website for public consultation. This is one of the initial steps to kick off the drafting and enactment processes of the new Vietnam PDP Law.