On 19 July 2021, the Medical Devices Branch (MDB) of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) published its draft “Regulatory Guidelines on Risk Classification of Standalone Medical Mobile Applications (SaMD) and Qualification of Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS)” for comments.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is seeking feedback for its proposed amendments to the Food Regulations. The proposed amendments delete a majority of the standards of identity currently contained in Regulations 39 to 260 of the Food Regulations, save where they have to be retained in the interest of food safety or to support public health-related policies. The proposed changes are expected to come into effect in April 2022.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently released its Consultation Conclusions Paper (“Consultation Conclusions”) on Implementation of Mandatory Reference Checking Scheme (“MRC Scheme”) to Address the “Rolling Bad Apples” Phenomenon.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently released a consultation (“Consultation”) on its “Proposed Amendments to MAS’ Investigative and Other Powers under the Various Acts.” The amendments, to be introduced through the Financial Institutions (“Miscellaneous Amendments”) Bill (“proposed provisions”), will expand the supervisory and enforcement powers of the MAS under the following acts: Banking Act (BA); Credit Bureau Act; Financial Advisers Act (FAA); Insurance Act (IA); Payment Services Act (PS Act); Securities and Futures Act (SFA); Trust Companies Act (TCA); and the upcoming new omnibus Act (“new Act”) for the financial sector (collectively, “relevant Acts”).
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s (CCCS) Guidance Note on Collaborations between Competitors in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (“COVID-19 Guidance Note”) expires on 31 July 2021. The CCCS intends to issue a Business Collaboration Guidance Note to ‘provide businesses with more clarity on common collaborations between competitors’. This is so that ‘businesses can collaborate in compliance with competition law with greater confidence’.
This edition takes a bite-size look at the different rates of progress of environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulation and voluntary standards across the European Union, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
This report, the fourth in our Asia Pacific Business Renewal Series, explores how businesses are now fortifying their ESG efforts and pivoting from strategy to action. As businesses integrate ESG action into business renewal, there is an imperative to mitigate risks and pre-empt regulatory and compliance complexities amid uneven recovery and progress across jurisdictional and sectoral landscapes in the region.
The Ministry of Trade has issued Minister of Trade Regulation No. 59 of 2020 (“Regulation 59”) which is an amendment to Minister of Trade Regulation No. 118/M-DAG/PER/12/2015 on Import Provisions for Complementary Goods, Goods for the Purpose of Market Testing, and After-Sales Service (“Regulation 118”).
The Thai Customs Department has launched a Customs Trader Portal, an online web application that gives business operators a convenient option to register as an importer, exporter, and an operator who conducts customs formalities. This platform, implemented on 1 July 2021 for Thai individuals, is more aligned with the current digital economy. It also provides a third registration option for Thai individuals to register as customs formality operators. Previously, there were only two methods manual and E-customs.
The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement entered into force as a replacement for the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement due to Brexit, to leverage Vietnam-UK trade relations. To implement preferential tariff treatment under the UKVFTA, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 02/2021/TT-BCT that will regulate the origin issues and take effect on 27 June 2021.