I OVERVIEWChile continues to offer an attractive business environment. Chile was the first Latin American economy to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and is party to dozens of free trade agreements (including with the United States, the European Union, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil) ...
Although blockchain and smart contracts are young, still-evolving and need to be tested and improved, they are already promising a revolution in different areas of the economy, and this is not unfounded; both could bring huge improvements across many areas. Imagine being able to get a mortgage, buy an apartment and get the relevant records immediately registered under your name with no need to make legal reviews of these transactions in just one click ...
By: Artin Betpera The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has for over a decade been a source of significant legal risk for any business that communicates with consumers by phone or text. The TCPA prohibits making calls without consent to cell phones using an “Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (“ATDS”), and contains a private right of action that provides for statutory damages of $500 up to $1,500 per offending call or text ...
Most of the attention at this week's ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Manila focused on the failure of ASEAN to reach a definitive approach on establishing a human rights body for the grouping. The proposed ASEAN Charter is supposed to address human rights concerns through this new entity. Perhaps given the diversity in governance standards among members, this was to be expected ...
With cybersecurity risks increasing and evolving moving into 2023, the federal government is taking steps to help secure our cyber infrastructure. The recent passing of the 2023 omnibus spending agreement included additional funds for a variety of federal agencies in order to strengthen our cybersecurity apparatus. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (“CISA”) received $1.3 billion for its cybersecurity programs. This is a $230 million increase over last year ...
The OFT has announced that, for a trial period of 18 months, it will offer cash rewards to individuals that blow the whistle on cartels. Pay outs of up to £100,000 could be made at the OFT’s discretion – but only where the information provided helps the regulator to identify and take action against illegal cartels ...
One of the proposals set out in the Green Paper concerns an investment obligation for streaming services. According to the proposal, streaming services are required to either invest directly in Norwegian films and series, or, if the services do not invest sufficiently in Norwegian content, contribute to the financing of such productions through financial contributions to the Norwegian Film Fund ...
News of a new federal law on foreign direct investment in the UAE has many people asking: “Does this mean I can now form a new company with majority foreign ownership?” The answer is the same as previously, “No, not yet”. Companies incorporated in the UAE require a minimum of 51 percent UAE ownership. As an exception to this rule, 100 percent foreign ownership is permitted in free zones. The new law may lead to further exceptions in the future ...
The agreement on a new EU-U.S. data privacy framework between EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden had already been announced on 25 March 2022 (for background, please refer to our previous article The EU-US Privacy Shield: Third Time’s a Charm? – Mamo TCV) ...
On Jan. 29, the National Bank of Ukraine adopted a regulation on the procedure for granting residents individual NBU licenses to transfer hard currency outside Ukraine as payment for monetary assets. According to this new regulation, prior to making a payment in hard currency to a non-resident seller of monetary assets - except for external government T-bills -, a resident purchaser must obtain from the NBU an individual license authorizing the remittance ...
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has today published its report1 on immigration reform. As the MAC itself acknowledges, there will be “winners” and “losers” in any policy for immigration reform.On an initial reading of the report, it would appear the reforms proposed, while impacting all sectors, would be most challenging for those sectors employing a low-skilled workforce ...
Earlier this year, Mexico´s Senate approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP"). The CPTPP will enter into force once six of its members ratify the Treaty pursuant to their internal legal procedures. Mexico is the first member to ratify the Treaty ...
Although admittedly still in its early phase, the metaverse, a virtual world where users can interact with each other and digital objects in a 3D environment, provides exciting new opportunities with a multitude of implications for rights management and the Fintech sector. Facebook’s head-first charge into this new landscape attests to the importance of the metaverse. Last year, the tech giant rebranded its corporate identity to Meta to signal its commitment to the metaverse ...
The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 – what you need to knowDo LLPs have independent legal personality? The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 (the “Act”) came into force on 3 January 2017, and provides for the establishment of limited liability partnership (“LLP”) structures in Mauritius. The LLP is a welcome and awaited addition to the various types of vehicles that can be created in Mauritius ...
In late November 2007, the Supreme Court rendered a judgment on the law of sale in Quebec in the case of ABB Inc. v. Domtar Inc.(1) in which it pointed out important differences between Quebec law and the law of the other Canadian provinces regarding limitation of liability clauses ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends, Our Arbitration and Mediation partners Rabindra S. Nathan, Rodney Gomez and K. Shanti Mogan have co-authored the Malaysian chapter of The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides: International Arbitration 2021. The Arbitration Act 2005 (“AA 2005”) applies to arbitration in Malaysia ...
The Legal 500 & The In-House LawyerComparative Legal GuidePhilippines: Mergers & Acquisitions Country Author: Franco Aristotle G. Larcina, Partner, SyCip SalazarHernandez & Gatmaitan 1. What are the key rules/laws relevant to M&A and who are the key regulatory authorities? M&A activity is governed primarily by the Corporation Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 68) ...
Background On 10 September 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and People’s Bank of China (PBoC)released their respective implementation rules in connection with the cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect (WMC) pilot scheme in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) ...
Download a free copy of the Philippine section of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Telecoms, Media and Internet Laws and Regulations 2015, which was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez and senior associate Ruben P. Acebedo II ...
Corruption is a scourge which transcends frontiers. In response to this situation, Canada has chosen to pass the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (hereinafter referred to as the "CFPOA") in 1998, then reinforced the regime thereof more recently. The difficulty with this Act lies in the fact that the offences must have been committed abroad. International cooperation thus remains essential to its application. The difficulties related to the transnational nature of corruption are real ...
The President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, announced today the Implementation of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, DR-CAFTA, with respect to the Dominican Republic. See press release from The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070301.html#).The implementation of this free trade treaty opens a new era of commercial opportunities between the member countries to the DR-CAFTA ...
Defining your strategy and analysing the market are crucial when making the decision to invest in China, but the tax efficiency of the business has its own specific issues and investors should not neglect them either. The Chinese tax system has particular characteristics that you must get to know before investing. In this informative note, we will address some basic aspects of value added tax and the invoicing system ...
Changes to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been anticipated since the moment of President Trump’s election. When U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified Congress of the Administration’s intent to renegotiate NAFTA, he triggered the 90-day consultation period before formal negotiations can begin ...
The two financial centres have long been considered twins, but where do the similarities end and the differences begin? Hong Kong, now entering its 15th week of protests, has been filled with increasingly incendiary rhetoric and escalating violence. This past weekend saw protesters lighting fires at an MTR station entrance, just outside the uber-luxe Bulgari boutique in Central ...
