Member Articles

To allow for adequate planning, the Quebec government phased in the coming into force of certain regulatory amendments on building safety that were adopted in the past few years. These new standards were previously discussed in bulletin Nos. 6 and 9, issued in April 2013 and June 2014 respectively, of our Lavery Real Estate and Construction series. This newsletter serves as a brief reminder of the most imminent deadlines ...

Growth of the real estate industry in Panama is evident everywhere. Skyscrapers that could very well be found in large cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong or Miami, rise proud in former residential and colonial areas of Panama city. Panama’s architectural identity is driven by important local and international architects, and symbolic buildings such as the Biodiversity Museum and the F&F Tower, also known as ‘the Screw’ ...

The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) have announced that, on several fronts, they are implementing amendments to the disclosure requirements for venture issuers, including those listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. These amendments primarily address continuous disclosure and governance obligations, while also implementing changes to disclosure obligations for prospectuses and information circulars ...

I have spent the last few days in Paris with our colleagues from our international network – World Services Group. With professionals from more than 30 countries worldwide, it was a great opportunity to take the temperature of global M&A. Whilst Paris in spring is never to be sniffed at, a number of very positive themes emerged ...

Indonesia’s Currency Law came into effect on 28 June 2011 as Law No. 7 of 2011 on Currency (“Currency Law”). The Currency Law is the implementation of Article 23B of the 1945 Constitution which states that the types and value of the currency are to be further regulated under a law. Bank Indonesia issued on 31 March 2015 as an implementing regulation for the Currency Law, Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 on the Obligation to Use Rupiah in the Indonesian Territory (“PBI 17/3/2015”) ...

The April issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) includes an international briefing article by SyCipLaw partner Anthony W. Dee and associate Ma. Patricia B. Paz entitled “Philippines: Complaints mechanism concerns.”Download a PDF copy of the article or read the article online at the IFLR website ...

In several recent years, Hong Kong’s equity capital market has raised the most new funds from IPOs, in some of those years raising more than London and New York combined. A global finance centre There were a number of massive listings in the market before the financial crisis, notably of state owned Chinese banks. These gave a strong impetus to the emergence of Hong Kong as a key financial centre ...

The Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) has launched its new research report entitled “Asia’s Financial Services: Ready for the Cloud—A Report on FSI Regulations Impacting Cloud in Asia-Pacific Markets.” SyCipLaw Partner Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez with Senior Associate Ruben P. Acebedo II contributed the information on the Philippines ...

MMF Regulation: The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) published its report (which includes the draft regulation) (dated 4 March 2015) on the proposed Regulation on Money Market Funds (MMF Regulation). The EU Parliament is scheduled to consider the legislative proposal on 27 to 30 April 2015.  ESMA AIFMD Q&AESMA has published updated AIFMD Q&A with new reporting issues and some additional guidance on marketing ...

ON FEBRUARY 19, 2015, THE COURT OF APPEAL OF QUEBEC1OVERTURNED A JUDGMENT RENDERED BY THE SUPERIOR COURT2, ON JULY 12, 2013, WHICH GRANTED THE DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS. ESSENTIALLY, THE COURT HAD TO DETERMINE WHETHER COVERAGE UNDER A BUILDER’S RISK INSURANCE POLICY EXTENDS TO DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE WORK TO AN EXISTING STRUCTURE, OR WHETHER IT IS LIMITED TO THE SITE ON WHICH THE WORK IS BEING DONE ...

This guide provides general commentary and direction to prospective purchasers of property in the BVI. It is not a substitute for professional advice which will take account of individual specific circumstances, and should not be taken as legal advice. No responsibility can be accepted by O’Neal Webster for any loss occasioned by a person or organisation acting or refraining from acting on the basis of this information ...

On December 17, 2014, New York Assembly Bill 9933, which amends the Uniform Commercial Code in effect in the state of New York (the “NYUCC”), was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, and took effect immediately. This new law (the “UCC Revisions Law”) includes several changes to Article 9 of the NYUCC (“Article 9”), that governs the creation and perfection of security interests in personal property under New York law ...

Bank Indonesia issued Circular of Bank Indonesia No. 16/17/DSta, which came into force on 3 November 2014 (SEBI 16/17/DSta), which is a fourth amendment to Circular of Bank Indonesia No. 13/3/DPM on Commercial Bank Daily Report. SEBI 16/17/DSta amends the scope of information to be submitted to Bank Indonesia as well as, additional codes for exempted foreign loans, and additional codes for validation systems ...

On February 11, 2015, Supreme Decree No. 2264 was enacted to establish the Productive Development Bank, as the entity in charge of recording unconventional collateral offered by productive entities. This will allow rural and non-rural producers to gain access to productive credit that had previously been inaccessible because of a lack of conventional collateral. Newly enacted regulation, set forth by Supreme Decree No. 2264 (“S.D ...

IFLR 1000's Michael Washburn interviewed O’Neal Webster’s new Partner, Christopher Simpsonin relation to capital markets trends for an articlepublished on 11February, 2015. Click here to read the article.He noted, among other things, that recent legislation in the BVI, such as the approved managers regime, which Simpson describes as a“lighter-touch” regulation for managers desiring to oversee an investment fund or funds through a BVI entity, is an encouraging trend ...

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) yesterday issued a Risk Alert reporting its findings from cybersecurity examinations of registered broker-dealers and investment advisers and stated that it will continue its focus on cybersecurity in 2015 through risk-based examinations. OCIE revealed that most of the examined firms had experienced some type of cyber-attack, primarily through malware and fraudulent emails ...

Australia has a complex system of taxation including a Federal income tax, capital gains tax and goods and services tax (GST) and eight separate State and Territory systems of duties and taxes. Tax planning is therefore important to maximise after-tax investor returns. The following guide sets out some high level issues to consider on a global M&A deal where the target is an Australian company or business or where downstream Australian subsidiaries are involved ...

IntroductionOn November 26, 2014, the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) retroactively reinstated data collection requirements to measure foreign direct investment into the United States. The BE-13 survey collects data on the acquisition or establishment of U.S. business enterprises by foreign investors and the expansion of existing United States affiliates of foreign companies that establish new facilities where business is conducted ...

The Banking Bill governs commercial (Bank Umum) and rural (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat) banks (Banks), and provides the procedure and requirements for establishing Banks, the restrictions on foreign ownership in Banks, the criteria for being appointed as senior executives or being controlling shareholders of Banks, and requirements regarding Bank soundness levels. The Banking Bill will replace the current Banking Law No. 7 of 1992 (as amended) ...

On 6 May 2014, the Governor of the Jakarta Special Capital Region (Governor) issued Regulation No. 68 of 2014 on Guidelines for Granting Construction Services Licenses (Regulation 68). Regulation 68 repeals and replaces Regulation No. 47 of 2008 and this has been in force since 12 May 2014. Regulation 68 provides a new procedure for obtaining a Construction Services License (Ijin Usaha Jasa Konstruksi or IUJK) from the Governor or Mayors in DKI Jakarta ...

On 24 July 2014, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued Circular Letter No. 12/SEOJK.07/2014 on The Presentation of Information for Marketing Financial Services or Products (Circular Letter 12). Circular Letter 12 has been in force since 6 August 2014. Circular Letter 12 provides marketing conduct guidelines for financial services providers on directly or indirectly offering their services/products (i.e. websites, commercial advertisments, brochures, telemarketing, etc) ...

On 8 December 2014, the Serbian Parliament passed the law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Planning and Construction (“the Law”). Here are some of the most important novelties: Conversion - The concept of conversion continues to exist under the term “transformation of right of use into the right of ownership of construction land” ...

On November 6, 2014, Law No. 20,789 was published in the Official Gazette, granting legal status to theConsejo de Estabilidad Financiera (Financial Stability Council or “CEF”). The CEF is part of the Ministry of Finance, and was originally created in 2011 by means of a ministerial decree.
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