Apr 2018 - ESAPA Client eNewsletter

• Hong Kong

• Other

18-04-2018

Australia

Contributed by Thomson Geer

By Josh Simons, Partner

Major reform of Australian Competition Laws

The most significant changes to Australian competition law in 20 years commenced on 6 November 2017.

A number of amendments were made to Australia's Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA), following recommendations arising from the 'root and branch review' of competition law and policy commenced by the Federal Government in 2015 (commonly known as the 'Harper Review').

Read full article here​​​​​​​.

China

Contributed by Eversheds Sutherland

By Stephen Kitts, Managing Partner, Asia ; Jay Ze, Partner and Chief Representative of the Beijing office ; Robert Pitcher, Head of Energy & Infrastructure, UK

The Belt and Road Initiative: investment laws in key BRI countries

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multi-$trn Chinese led initiative to strengthen trade routes and related infrastructure across over 150 countries worldwide. The initiative covers over 60% of the world’s population, in terms of country coverage.

BRI is almost certainly the largest global infrastructure programme this generation will see. It is a vast opportunity for both Chinese businesses and for the many economies along the routes.

Read full article ​​​​​​​here​​​​​​.

Hong Kong

Contributed by Eversheds Sutherland

By Mark Herlach, Partner, US ; Stephen Kitts, Managing Partner, Asia

China faces potential new trade restrictions

President Trump signed a memorandum directing Administration officials to proceed with the imposition of trade restrictions on China and Chinese products in retaliation for China’s unfair intellectual property practices. The President’s action is based on an investigation by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 301 authorizes the President to take unilateral action against a foreign country that violates US rights or engages in unreasonable or discriminatory practices.

Read full article ​​​​​​​here​​​​​​.



Contributed by Eversheds Sutherland

By Paul Moloney, Partner, Hong Kong ; Jennifer Van Dale, Partner, Hong Kong ; Duncan Watt, Consultant, Hong Kong ; Philip Fong, Managing Partner, Singapore ; Suressh S., Partner, Singapore

Helping it click into place - our latest monthly Asia cybersecurity update

During 2017, cyberattacks continued to evolve and develop sophistication, exploiting both previously unidentified vulnerabilities and known vulnerabilities in new ways. Ransomware attacks such as Petya and WannaCry put critical functions across the world and across industries on hold, while the Mirai botnet attack, unleashed in late 2016, highlighted the increasing vulnerabilities of networked Internet of Things (or IoT) devices.

In this context, global regulators and legislators continue to implement new measures aimed at tightening cybersecurity and data privacy requirements for corporates. In 2017 alone, new and stringent regulations came into force in China, Australia, and New York State, with 2018 already seeing Singapore’s new cybersecurity law enacted and Europe’s GDPR set to enter into force within a few months. In the first of a series of Asian cybersecurity updates, we highlight new developments in Australia, Singapore and China.

Read full article ​​​​​​​here​​​​​​.

India

Contributed by Khaitan & Co

By Atul Pandey, Associate Partner ; Abhishek Sanyal, Principal Associate ; Indruj Rai, Principal Associate ; Hirak Mukhopadhyay, Associate

FEMA Cross Border Merger Regulations issued by RBI

Section 234 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act) and Rule 25A of the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016 (Companies Merger Rules) permit mergers and amalgamations between Indian companies and companies incorporated in certain jurisdictions. These provisions mandate prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for any such cross-border mergers.

After extensive public consultations, the RBI issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Cross Border Merger) Regulations, 2018 (FEMA Regulations) on 20 March 2018 to address various issues that may arise in relation to cross border mergers from an exchange control perspective.

Read full article here​​​​.

Indonesia

Contributed by SSEK

By Harry Kuswara, Legal Consultant ; Michael S. Carl, Foreign Legal Consultant

Virtual currency is here, so how is Indonesia going to regulate it? 

Virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, has made its way to Indonesia and government agencies are working to regulate its use. But as Bitcoin, Ripple, Peercoin and other virtual currencies increasingly attract the interest of Indonesians for all kinds of reasons, there is no regulation in Indonesia that deals specifically with virtual currency, a gap regulators hope to close.

Read full article here.

Myanmar

Contributed by DFDL

By Dave Seibert, Senior Legal Advisor, DFDL Myanmar

Power project investment incentives

With the turn of the year, we are seeing a surge in power project approvals in Myanmar. These projects are located both inside and outside of Myanmar’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs). While the investment benefits provided by the Myanmar Investment Commission may overlap with the SEZ in many instances, there are some general distinctions which are noteworthy.

Our team in Myanmar has put together an overview to compare them side by side distinctions under Myanmar’s investment regimes.

The information provided in this article is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Legal advice should be obtained from qualified legal counsel for all specific situations.

Read full article here​​​​.

Key contact: William Greenlee, Partner and Managing Director, DFDL Myanmar

Singapore

Contributed by Eversheds Harry Elias. 

By Hee Theng Fong, Consultant ; Toh Wei Yi, Partner ; Kirsten Teo, Senior Associate

Singapore High Court clarifies that the admissibility of pre-contractual negotiations is a procedural issue to be determined by the SIAC arbitral tribunal

The Singapore High Court dismissed the Plaintiff’s challenge to the jurisdictional ruling of an arbitral tribunal in an SIAC arbitration where the Plaintiff was the respondent and the Defendant was the claimant, and the Plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal under Section 10 of the International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev Ed) (the “Applications”).

Mr Hee Theng Fong, Ms Toh Wei Yi, Ms Kirsten Teo, Ms Poon Pui Yee and Ms Jaclyn Leong successfully acted for the Defendant in the Applications.

Read full article here​​​​.

Taiwan

Contributed by Formosa Transnational 

By Delphine Chen, Senior Partner

Amended Labor Standards Act

An amendment draft of the Labor Standards Act was approved by Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and will become effective on 1 March 2018.

New Act for Foreign Talents took effect

Premier Lai Ching-Te announced that the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Talents, which was passed into legislation on 31 October 2017, would take effect on 8 February 2018.

Read full article here​​​​.

Vietnam

Contributed by Asia Counsel 

By Christian Schaefer, Managing Partner

Latest update on innovative start-up funds

On 11 March 2018, the government issued Decree 38/2018/ND-CP providing detailed regulations on investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”).

Read full article and the latest Asia Counsel Insight here​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

International

Eversheds Sutherland launches BreachLawWATCH mobile app

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the release of BreachLawWATCH, a unique mobile app that provides easy, consistent access to data breach statutes across a growing number of jurisdictions including Europe, Asia and the United States.

Easy-to-use functionality enables users to find relevant breach notification regulations at their fingertips on a country-by-country basis. More specifically, the app is organised by jurisdiction and includes various categories such as notification requirements, definitions of personal information and breach of security, and timeframes for notification.

Read full article here​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.