This is a briefing on the issuances as of August 1, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. General Community Quarantine (GCQ) over Metro Manila Again Extended until August 15, 2020 B. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Allows More Business Establishments to Operate During GCQ from August 1, 2020 A ...
This is a briefing on the issuances as of August 3, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Metro Manila will be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) again from August 4 to 18B. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Further Extends until August 10, 2020 the Deadline for Filings and Payments Due for the Period of July 20 to August 7, 2020A ...
Thailand’s two-decade long growth of the renewable energy sector has been pivotal in the pursuit of Thailand 4.0, but has the coronavirus outbreak thwarted these plans? COVID-19 has forced many of the world’s most exciting economies into a full or partial shutdown, suspending their plans for development. Thailand is no exception ...
On June 11, 2020, the General Administration of Customs (“GAC”) released the Measures for the Administration of Imported and Exported Food Safety [draft] (General Administration of Customs of People's Republic of China, 2020) (“Draft Law”) to solicit public comments until July 11, 2020 ...
On August 12, 2020, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (“State Council”) released theCircular on Further Stabilizing Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment(the “Circular”), in which the Chinese government announced 15 policies aiming to protect foreign trade entities and to keep supply chains stable against the economic fallout of the unabated COVID-19 pandemic. A few key points of the Circular include: 1 ...
On 8 April 2020, the Government rolled out the first tranche of the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) for subsidising wages of employees (see our client alerts dated 14 and 20 May 2020 for details of the ESS and its implementation). The Government has just announced details of the second tranche of the ESS covering September to November 2020, which are summarised below ...
The Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Bill 2020 (“the Covid-19 Bill”) was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat of Malaysia on Wednesday, 12 August 2020 ...
On 25 August 2020, “The Temporary Measures For Reducing The Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Bill 2020” (“Covid-19 Bill 2020”) was passed by the Dewan Rakyat. When will the Covid-19 Bill 2020 come into operation? The Covid-19 2020 Bill comes into operation on the date published in the Gazette. However, it will have a retrospective effect and will be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of the Movement Control Order i.e ...
In the first week of September 2020, the House of Representative passed the Bill on Stamp Duty and now it is waiting for approval by a plenary meeting of the House. The Bill is expected come into effect on 1 January 2021 given the time needed to issue the implementing regulation and for public awareness. The Bill will only recognize a single stamp duty, Rp10,000 unlike the current law which recognizes two stamp duties (Rp3,000 and Rp6,000) ...
The issue is not foreign talent but transparency in the process. DBS was last week named world’s best bank – the third consecutive year it has received such accolade. It was thus more than a little ironic that in the same week, its chief executive Piyush Gupta was cited by a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) as a disappointing example of a non “home-grown” CEO. Mr Gupta has been a Singapore citizen since 2009 and has helmed DBS for more than a decade ...
For the financial services sector, 2020 was to be the year of rebuilding after the royal commission reckoning of 2018-2019. But with 2020 presenting circumstances that were previously unimaginable, the sector – like the entire Australian economy – has a whole new set of challenges to face… As 2020 ticks on, the financial services industry is grappling with new challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn ...
In this article, Grace Chai Huey Yann explores common issues relating to remote working arrangements implemented by employers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented impact on businesses worldwide, especially when international borders are closed and various degrees of lockdown are introduced in response to the pandemic. Since the first quarter of this eventful year, virtual working has become the option for many employers ...
In this article, Tang Yen Yi examines the PENJANA Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan in relation to the property sector. During these unprecedented times of a global pandemic due to COVID-19, the Government of Malaysia announced the recovery plan for the country’s economy: PENJANA Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (“PENJANA”).PENJANA includes plans to stimulate the economy with incentives for real estate transactions ...
Facing Australia's first recession in 30 years, Australian businesses are attempting to steer a course not only for survival but for the growth needed to be a viable long term. But alongside uncertainty comes opportunity. Our new report, prepared in partnership with Acuris, explores the key steps for companies and investors to take advantage of the opportunities – and decisive, informed and proactive action is critical ...
Introduction The balance of trade between India and China continues to be heavily tilted in favour of China. Trade remedies such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties have been used frequently by India to curtail import of Chinese goods. To overcome such barriers, India has long suspected that China has been routing its goods through the ASEAN countries by misusing the Free Trade Agreements (‘FTA’) ...
Background and about Atmanirbhar Bharat The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat,or self-reliance, was at the heart of the Hon’ble Prime Ministerof India, Shri Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on 12May 2020 when he announced an economic package towards building aAtmanirbhar Bharat, or a self-reliant, resilient India ...
Introduction What is known to exist but is not visible is surrounded by mystery. It excites the imagination and people spin yarns about it. Though that is not true when it comes to novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), the outbreak of which has been globally reported, COVID-19 has caused worldwide unprecedented disruptions to business operations; and the commercial turmoil continues ...
SC and Bursa extend temporary margin financing flexibilitiesOn 28 September 2020, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) and Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa”) extended the temporary relief measures relating to margin financing to 31 December 2020. The relief measures, which took effect on 27 March 2020 via Participating Organisations’ Circular No. R/R 6 of 2020, were initially due to expire on 30 September 2020 ...
Balance has been tipping over from creditors to shareholders and the pandemic is only bringing this deepening fault line to the fore. Covid-19 slammed into the global consciousness this March and, as expected, immediately torpedoed the markets. But despite the worsening economic data hogging news headlines, exacerbated by intensifying US-China tensions, the markets have paradoxically strengthened since ...
On 30 September 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out ‘Round 6’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. These represent a combination of new and existing measures (that have been extended) ...
In the recent judgment of The Center (76) Limited V Victory Serviced Office (HK) Limited HCA 1020/2020; [2020] HKCFI 2881, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance rejected a tenant’s argument that the tenancy agreement was frustrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social disruption ...
Introduction Covid-19 has disrupted our lives and businesses at many unprecedented levels never seen before in the history of mankind. The recent announcements by numerous pharmaceutical companies of newly developed Covid-19 vaccines have been positively received by the world at large and many now have high hopes that our lives will now finally return to normal as we knew it1 ...
Retail is facing its biggest reset post-pandemic. It survived multiple economic depressions, two world wars and a catastrophic fire. But after 162 years, Robinsons will be no more. The iconic Singapore department store may have been the pandemic’s latest casualty, but the truth is that the red ink had begun bleeding long before Covid-19 struck. Suffering from intense competition from e-commerce, the once-publicly listed company had not turned a profit since at least 2014 ...
The Industrial Court in Malaysia is an important institution that is established under the Industrial Relations Act 1967 to hear and decide on disputes in relation to the terms and conditions of employment in a collective agreement. In a collective agreement dispute, salary adjustments, increments and bonuses are usually the hotly contested articles. The Industrial Courts are usually guided by a set of principles in deciding on such financial-related articles ...
On 24 September 2020, Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik ─ “BPS”) issued BPS Regulation No. 2 of 2020 on Indonesian Standard Business Classifications (Klasifikasi Baku Lapangan Usaha Indonesia ─ “KBLI”), which is known as the 2020 KBLI. The 2020 KBLI came into force on its issuance date and revoked BPS Regulation No. 95 of 2015 on the KBLIs, as amended by BPS Regulation No. 19 of 2017, which is known as the 2017 KBLI ...
