On 30 December 2021, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) announced that it had detected potent adulterants in five products that were marketed on local e-commerce and social media platforms. The HSA has since removed the affected listing and issued warnings to sellers of said products.
On 11 January 2022, the Office of Government of Vietnam issued Document No. 229/VPCP-CN to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam for the next steps of updating the draft regulations on the implementation of the pilot program on the direct power purchase agreement mechanism between renewable energy power generation companies and major power consumers.
In June 2022, amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects employees who have reported violations of certain laws specified in the WPA, are expected to come into force. Amongst other items, the Amended WPA includes a mandatory obligation for companies of a certain size to establish a whistleblowing system with the aim of ensuring the protection of whistleblowers.
Prior to the “NFT art” paradigm, people tended to belittle the value of digital art due to its intangible and non-exclusive nature. An Internet surfer can screenshot, save or copy and paste the digital art onto their personal devices and end up with a piece identical to the original work. Such protection is now made possible with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through blockchain, smart contract, and cryptocurrency technology.
In 2021 the Indonesian Government issued Government Regulation No. 29 on Organization of the Trade Sector (“GR 29”). GR 29 is an implementing regulation of the Job Creation Law, which changes the rules for trade matters, including for distribution of goods, exports and imports. Following the issuance of GR 29, the Ministry of Trade (MOT) introduced a series of technical implementing regulations. MOT Reg. 20/2021 replaced the previous regulations, and has simplified the rules on import of various type of goods.
On 29 December 2021, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption issued a reminder to the insurance sector to remain vigilant in upholding a high integrity standard and to take a proactive stance against corruption.
The Competition Guidelines outline how the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s analytical and procedural framework for administering the Competition Act 2004. Businesses should conduct a review of their existing business operations in Singapore to ensure that they are in line with these Competition Guidelines.
The Ministry of Commerce of China released its first Export Control White Paper on 29 December 2021. Simultaneously, it launched a dedicated “China Export Control Information” website, where it publishes export control related FAQs, case studies and training videos. The White Paper places great emphasis on criticizing the abuse of discriminative, unilateral export controls, and the activity of “building export control small circles in the name of multilateralism”.
On 10 December 2021, at the Summit for Democracy, the US, Australia, Denmark, and Norway, released a Joint Statement announcing an Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative to curb the misuse of technologies by certain governments. The initiative aims to combat digital authoritarianism in countries where software and advanced surveillance technologies have been used to hack the communications of political opponents and journalists, shape public opinion, and censor information the government deems threatening.
Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, has on 15 December 2021 issued an exposure draft of the Payment System Operator policy document. The PSO Exposure Draft is intended to apply to all approved operators of a payment system under the Malaysian Financial Services Act 2013 and Malaysian Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. The objectives of the PSO Exposure Draft are to: (i) ensure the safety, efficiency and reliability of payment systems; (ii) preserve public confidence in the payment systems and the use of payment instruments; and (iii) ensure payment systems are aligned with relevant international standards.