On 31 May 2021, the Personal Data Protection Commission received a complaint that RedMart Limited was collecting images of the physical National Registration Identity Card and other identification documents of suppliers making deliveries to its warehouses.
From 31 January 2023, the Info-Communications Media Development Authority implemented the full SSIR regime. All organizations that use short message service (SMS) with sender identification are required to register their Sender IDs with the Singapore SMS Sender ID Registry. Non-registered SMSes have been labelled as “Likely-SCAM” and will be blocked from later this year. Organizations are encouraged to register their Sender IDs if they have not done so.
In brief
On 10 February 2023, the Government of Vietnam issued the new Decree No. 03/2023/NĐ-CP on regulating the functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam Competition Commission (“Decree 03”). Decree 03 will take effect on 1 April 2023.
Key takeaways
Decree 03 provides the following new key regulations:
The official English name of the authority will be the Vietnam Competition Commission (VCC). Meanwhile, the Vietnamese name is “Uy Ban Canh Tranh Quoc Gia”.
The VCC shall take over the role of the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority (VCCA) in the state management of competition matters under the Competition Law once Decree 03 comes into effect.
In depth
Since Competition Law No. 23/2018/QH14 (“Competition Law”) was passed back in 2018, the VCC was mandated as the leading authority responsible for the state management of competition matters under the Competition Law. However, there have been no further developments as to the establishment of this authority until recently, nearly four years after the Competition Law came into effect.
Specifically, on 10 February 2023, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 03.
The VCC’s organizational structure shall consist of 15 officers, including one president and several vice presidents,1 and the headquarters shall be located in Hanoi.2 Within the VCC’s organizational structure will be the following departments:
Competition investigation agency
Secretariats of councils dealing with competition cases
Competition supervision board
Other units established under the VCC to perform the function of state management of competition, protection of consumers’ interests and management of multi-level marketing activities3
Pursuant to Decree 03, the VCC is tasked with handling competition proceedings in accordance with the Competition Law, controlling economic concentration activities, handling requests for exemptions and appeals of settlement decisions of competition cases, and performing the tasks of state management of competition, protection of consumers’ interests and management of multi-level marketing activities as prescribed by law.4
As for the operation of the current authority, the VCCA, pursuant to Decree No. 96/2022/ND-CP on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT), the VCCA will continue to perform its functions and duties in accordance with current legal regulations until the Government stipulates the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the VCC.5 Accordingly, by operation of law, once Decree 03 has taken effect (i.e., 1 April 2023), the VCCA’s functions shall cease.
Decree 03 shall also supersede Decree No. 07/2015/ND-CP dated 16 January 2015 on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the previous Vietnam Competition Council (i.e., “Hoi Dong Canh Tranh” in Vietnamese), and Decision No. 24/2015/QD-TTg dated 30 June 2015 of the Prime Minister promulgating the regulation on organization and operation of the Vietnam Competition Council.
Under Decree 03, the VCC shall also be edited into relevant provisions under Decree No. 40/2018/ND-CP on the management of multi-level marketing activities, Decree 99/2011/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, and Decree 54/2020/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 127/2015/ND-CP on the organization and operation of inspection activities in the industry and trade sector.
The long-awaited arrival of the VCC also means that we can expect to see more enforcement activities by the competition regulators, not only within the area of merger control, but also the enforcement of regulations on anti-competitive agreements and abuse of market dominance.
The full Vietnamese text of Decree 03 can be found here.
1 Article 4, Decree 03.
2 Article 4, Decree 03.
3 Article 5, Decree 03.
4 Article 2, Decree 03.
5 Article 5, Decree No. 96/2022/ND-CP issued by the government on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the MOIT, dated 29 November 2022.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued the Notice on Business Conduct Requirements for Corporate Finance Advisers on 23 February 2023. This comes around 14 months after the MAS issued the Consultation Paper P020-2021 which proposed to introduce regulatory requirements on the conduct of due diligence by corporate finance advisers, strengthen public confidence and promote informed decision making by investors through quality disclosures.
Indonesia has been in the headlines with its 2022 G-20 presidency from December 2021 through November 2022. During its presidency, Indonesia was supportive of international community tax initiatives such as carbon tax policies and the global minimum tax. Domestically, the Indonesian government introduced tax reforms to update its tax systems and align its tax policies with international standards. In an article published in Tax Notes International, Baker McKenzie’s Ria Muhariastuti and Harizka Rizal discuss the Indonesian government’s efforts to reform its tax policies to meet international standards.
On 7 March 2023, the Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, announced the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023/24 and the market studies and advocacy work that the ACCC would continue this year. Ms. Cass-Gottlieb identified a range of industry sectors, as well as specific competition and consumer law issues that will be the focus of the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement activities for 2023/24. Many of these areas continue from last year.
On 12 January 2023, the Government of Indonesia enacted Law No. 4/2023 on Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (Pengembangan dan Penguatan Sektor Keuangan). This law amended several laws, including capital markets law, which was regulated under Law No. 8/1995 on Capital Markets.
In this alert, we highlight some changes relating to post-IPO obligations (i.e., share ownership reporting, disclosure of material information and insider trading).
Budget 2023 focuses on building a more resilient and innovative Singapore. As the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation now contends with inflationary pressures in the midst of global uncertainty. Budget 2023 seeks to provide support to businesses and households to weather the challenges ahead while ensuring that Singapore continues to uphold fiscal prudence.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Australia adopts further sanctions against Russia on 27 February 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
On 24 February 2023, Malaysia’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim unveiled the Malaysian Budget 2023, themed “Building Malaysia Madani.” This is the first budget introduced by the new Unity Government, and at RM388.1 billion, it is the largest expansionary budget in the country’s history. The MADANI budget is a testament to the Government’s commitment to a reform agenda that aims to drive economic recovery, boost tax revenue, promote good governance, and provide care for the people.