On 12 May 2022, the President issued Executive Order No. 169, which seeks to intensify government efforts in strengthening the franchising industry and to help businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, by developing a transparent and business-friendly environment, and promoting fair and equitable practices.
The Takeover Panel has published a consultation paper (PCP 2022/2) setting out proposed changes to the definition of “acting on concert” in the Code. The changes, which are highly complex and technical in nature, are in part a codification of existing Panel practice. There are, however, are some important adjustments that, given the potentially significant consequences of being considered to be “acting in concert” (e.g. setting a floor price for an offer and/or triggering a mandatory bid obligation), it will be important for offer participants and their advisers to familiarise themselves with.
On Tuesday 3 May 2022, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, through Resolution 826/2022, approved the collective agreement signed between the Argentine Federation of Commerce and Services Employees, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services, the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises and the Argentine Union of Commercial Entities. The Agreement establishes new salary conditions applicable to employees covered by the Collective Bargain Agreement 130/75 effective from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
On 5 May 2022, in a landmark Australian decision, the Federal Court found that RI Advice had breached its obligations as an Australian financial services licensee to act efficiently, honestly and fairly, as a result of its failure to have in place adequate risk management systems to manage cybersecurity risks. In handing down her judgment, Justice Rofe warned that “cybersecurity risk forms a significant risk connected with the conduct of the business and provision of financial services”. Her Honour noted that the declarations ordered in the matter should deter other AFS licensees from engaging in similar conduct.
This edition of Bite-size Briefings explores the regulation of crypto (or digital) assets across a number of jurisdictions: Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, the UK and the US.
Through the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency of 20 June 2019 (EUR 2019/1023, “Directive”), the European Union has imposed an obligation on its member states to offer a more attractive and flexible restructuring scheme in their respective local law. The initial deadline to do so had been 17 July 2021. Only a handful of countries (most notably Germany and The Netherlands) had implemented the Directive within the initial deadline, whilst the other countries made use of the possibility to ask for a one year extension.
In an interview with IFLR, Zhang Hong (Head of Private Equity at Baker McKenzie FenXun) talks about what’s driving China’s outbound M&A in 2022 and where the hotspots for M&A activities are.
We invite you to join us as members of our Latin American Dispute Resolution practice take a closer look at the new political scenarios unfolding in several countries, and at the future of investment disputes in the region. Our team will share insights on the possibility of corporate restructuring under existing legislation, and strategies for litigation preparation to help your organization be ready for the times ahead.
On 6 May 2022, the OECD released a public consultation document with respect to the Regulated Financial Services Exclusion for Amount A. This latest consultation document follows four other publications on aspects of Amount A since February relating to nexus and revenue sourcing, tax base determinations, scope, and the extractives exclusion. As with earlier draft model rules, this publication is a work-in-progress and subject to changes. The OECD welcomes comments from the public before 20 May 2022, following which a more detailed commentary on a number of technical items is expected to be released.
Following the government’s announcement of the creation of a new Future System Operator to oversee the UK’s energy system including emerging technologies and the arrival of the UK Energy Security Strategy, on 8 April 2022, the UK government published a package of proposals in support of UK hydrogen policy, including in particular a policy paper titled “Hydrogen Investor Roadmap: leading the way to net zero”. The paper reiterates the government’s pledge made in the Strategy to double its 5GW low-carbon hydrogen target to 10GW by 2030, with the intention that at least half of this production will come from electrolytic hydrogen. The paper aligns with the approach laid out in the Strategy to utilise excess offshore wind power to drive down hydrogen production costs