Following certain onsite inspections, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a Circular in October 2008 setting out various standards of conduct and control procedures that the SFC views as being "generally expected" of a Hong Kong-licensed hedge fund manager (HKHFM) ...
While they are an integral part of most businesses - often with a primary function of delivering cost savings and efficiencies - they must be kept up-to-date to ensure they achieve those aims. So now is a good time to undertake an IT systems review, and look at consolidation and streamlining. Changes to business structures, acquisitions and a system's age are other triggers for an IT stock take ...
With effect from 1 January 2009, new rules require administrators to provide information to creditors on a range of detailed issues when carrying out a pre-pack sale in an administration. Pre-packs are the process during which a troubled company and a proposed purchaser reach an agreement before an administrator is appointed, relating to the sale of all or part of the company's business or assets ...
GENERAL 1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘e-government’. The most important initiatives were the introduction of electronic identity cards (e-ID) for all Belgian citizens over 12, and the federal government’s information web-portal ...
ALTIUS contributed to a publication on International Acquisition Finance accross mutiple jurisdictions. The volume provides counsel with a full insight into the law and regulation across numerous jurisdictions. Johan De Bruycker, Caroline Wildemeersch and Kasper Van Landeghem from ALTIUS' Banking & Finance team untangle the complications of debt funding regimes for the Belgian jurisdiction. 1 ...
What is spamdexing? The Internet contains a lot of information. In 2002, the total number of web pages was estimated at 2.024 million; by 2005 this estimate had risen to 11.5 billion2. The ever- increasing amount of information found on the Internet also has disadvantages. In this jungle of information, it is getting harder and harder to see the wood for the trees ...
With the credit crunch likely to affect every aspect of the global economy, the prospect of declining revenue threatens to erode the profitability of many businesses. So the challenge is to preserve cash and cut costs. But how does this affect IT? Cutting back on IT projects is not necessarily an option. Software is the engine of the modern enterprise. Indeed, for many organisations it is their primary source of competitive advantage ...
Reduction in Income Tax for Publicly Owned Companies The Ministry of Finance recently issued regulation No.238/PMK.03/2008 of 2008 regarding the Procedures for and Supervision of the Granting of Tariff Reductions to Local Entity Tax Payers which are Publicly Owned Companies ...
New Law on Aviation In order to keep up with the development of the aviation industry in Indonesia, on 17 December 2008, the House of Representatives passed the Bill on Aviation. This Bill came in force on 12 January 2009 as Law No 1 of 2009 regarding Aviation (“Law 1”) ...
China has traditionally restricted foreign investment in the retail and wholesale sectors with the aim of nurturing strong domestic players before their foreign counterparts would be allowed to enter the country. Since becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation, China has gradually opened up its distribution sector to foreign investment ...
Software is part of the day-to-day fabric for most companies. And almost everyone who uses it does so with little or no thought about what happens should it fail, or if it is no longer available. However, the prudent software buyer will consider how to protect against failure of critical or bespoke software, which is where escrow may come in. Be warned, though ...
Virtually every business has some sort of website or presence on the internet, and it is often an integral part of the business. At the same time, many organisations use bespoke or customised software internally on a day-to-day basis, and undoubtedly attribute significant value to these assets, not least because the development of them probably required a significant investment via a third party developer providing the software ...
1.1 Please identify the scope of claims that may Switzerland for breach of competition law. Under the Swiss Federal Act on Cartels and Other Restraints of Competition (LCart), civil competition actions can be brought before Swiss civil courts by enterprises impeded by an unlawful restraint of competition ...
In early 2008, 'green computing' and the idea that companies were going to need to implement new measures to improve their green credentials was one of the hot topics in IT. You might have been forgiven for thinking that environmental concern would be among the first casualties of the credit crunch and the resulting recession ...
General socio-economic overview The Republic of Mozambique is situated on the east coast of southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Republic of Tanzania, to the northeast by Malawi and Zambia, to the west by Zimbabwe, to the south by Swaziland and to the south and west by South Africa. It is therefore very strategically located, providing a gateway to six other countries ...
I. Legal Framework The banking business in the Republic of Panama is regulated by Decree-Law No. 9 of February 26, 1998 and its amendments (the “Banking Law”). The Banking Law created the Superintendency of Banks (the “Superintendency”), which is the government agency in charge of supervising and overseeing banking operations and the exercise of the banking business in the Republic of Panama ...
Technical Resolution 26 – FACPCE Dated March 20, 2009 the FACPCE (Argentine Federation of Economic Sciences Professional Boards) approved Technical Resolution No. 26 “Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards of the Board” effective as from the years commenced after January 1st, 2011, not admitting an earlier application ...
On June 17, 2009, the Obama administration issued a "white paper" which proposes a sweeping reorganization of financial-market supervision. The plan would touch almost every corner of banking from how mortgages are underwritten to the way exotic financial instruments are traded. The plan will undoubtedly be modified during the Legislative process. Banks in other countries have already objected to the proposed international effects ...
Trademark owners often try to stop grey-market and counterfeit goods while in external transit through an EU member state. However, ECJ rulings are unclear as to the extent to which this is possible.Parallel traders purchase trademarked goods outside Europe and import them into the European Community, where higher prices apply. These grey-market goods put pressure on the trademark owner’s profit margins, as they are sold at below market price ...
What is CEPA? The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") is a free trade agreement between Mainland China and Hong Kong that offers Hong Kong products, companies and residents preferential access to the Mainland market. Many of the preferences go beyond China's WTO concessions. CEPA is not a closed agreement and both sides hold regular meetings on further concessions and the details for implementation ...
IntroductionAs of 8 January 2009, Belgian listed companies and financial undertakings are required to have an audit committee. The Law of 17 December 2008 on the establishment of an audit committee in listed companies and financial undertakings (the “Law”) then enters into force ...
1. IntroductionThe Royal Decree of 8 October 2008 amending the Belgian Companies Code (“BCC”) has amended the rules on financial assistance. The new rules entered into force on 1 January 2009. The Royal Decree implements European Directive 2006/68/EC amending the Second Company Law Directive. The Belgian rules on financial assistance apply to public limited-liability companies (NV/SA), private limited-liability companies (BVBA/SPRL), partnerships limited by shares (Comm ...
On the 1st June 2009, the major parts of the Insolvency Act 2009 (“the Act”) came into operation. The Act has completely revamped the insolvency regime in Mauritius and new provisions now govern “voidable transactions” following a company liquidation. The “ordinary course of business” test, which was prevailing under the former regime, has now been abandoned and replaced by what is known as the “running account principle” ...
A small measure of relief may be coming to some beleaguered Michigan communities that have been struggling recently with the difficult question of what actions they can realistically take to encourage much-needed local economic development while remaining cognizant of the financial limitations associated with lower revenues, higher costs and uncertain economic projections. The answer for some might be found in recovery zone financings ...
The growth in money laundering activities and terrorism financing using financial institutions requires concrete action to eradicate these criminal activities. The diversity of products, activities and information technology available in the banking sector has resulted in an increase in the use of banks for money laundering and terrorism funding ...
