The Supervisors Law of the People’s Republic of China was recently promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 20 August 2021. Together with other legislation and enforcement activities, the Supervisors Law aims to strengthen President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2022.
On 20 August 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Personal Information Protection Law of the PRC (PIPL), after deliberating two draft versions and seeking public comment in a ten-month span. The passage of the PIPL signifies that China is stepping into a more robust and comprehensive personal information protection regime by establishing a unified, cross-sector legislation, as the EU does with the aid of the General Data Protection Regulation.
The Singapore High Court refused a consumer’s attempt to re-file a failed claim after the lower court issued a final and unappealable decision. The consumer first brought a claim against e-commerce platform Lazada at the Small Claims Tribunal. After a decision was made, the consumer applied to the District Court for leave to appeal against the decision. The District Court refused to grant leave to appeal, which, under law, is considered as final. However, the consumer still brought a claim before the High Court, arguing that she was filing a fresh claim in respect of the damages that were not granted. The claim was refused.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at his recent National Day Rally speech, acknowledged the anxiety felt by middle income Singaporeans over foreign work pass holders, especially with the economic uncertainty heightened by COVID-19.
Addressing what he described as personal and emotional arguments by Singaporeans over perceived foreign competition for jobs and opportunities, the prime minister signaled that the government will introduce new anti-discrimination laws with a range of penalties extending beyond the current administrative penalties, such as restrictions on an employer from hiring foreign workers.
Earlier this month (7 August), the MIC released and called for public consultation on the draft decree amending and supplementing several provisions of Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the Law on Telecommunications (“Draft Decree”). The deadline for contribution to this consultation is 7 October 2021.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (‘IRAS’) updated its transfer pricing guidelines on 10 August 2021, with the release of the IRAS e-Tax Guide: Transfer Pricing Guidelines (Sixth Edition).. IRAS has provided additional guidance and clarification with respect to TP documentation compliance, surcharges on TP adjustments, advanced pricing arrangements and mutual agreement procedure requests.
In an earlier article Making it Mandatory to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19: A Framework for Employers, Baker McKenzie associates considered the issue of whether employers can require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 based on the existing legal framework at the time. Since then, the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation released two advisories on 2 July 2021 and 23 August 2021 to clarify the Singapore government’s policy on this issue and to provide guidance to employers regarding COVID-19 vaccination in the employment context.
To implement Section 35(b) of the Universal Healthcare Act, the Department of Health has issued Administrative Order No. 2021-0036 entitled ‘Guidelines on Compliance with Section 35(b) of [the UHC Act]: All Drug, Medical Device, Biological and Medical Supplies Manufacturers to Submit Reports on Disclosure of Financial Relationships with Health Care Providers and Health Care Professionals.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced the Offshore Wind Power Planning Site Capacity Allocation Guidelines on 19 August 2021. The Allocation Guidelines outlines the regulations and rules for an applicant to apply for grid capacity from the Bureau of Energy (BOE)/MOEA. The timing for the MOEA to accept application for grid allocation is to be announced.
The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority recently published an article explaining in detail the fundamental issues regarding agreements on price fixing, how such issue is addressed in other jurisdictions with developed antitrust regulations, and how it should be viewed within the context of Vietnam’s Competition Law No. 23/2018/QH14.