On 4 January 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, issued the Licensing Framework for Digital Insurers and Takaful Operators Discussion Paper. The DITO Discussion Paper outlines the newly proposed regulatory framework applicable to digital insurers and takaful operators. The document represents the next phase of BNM’s initiative to encourage digitalization within the financial sector, and follows the Licensing Framework for Digital Banks issued by BNM on 31 December 2020.
On 10 December 2021, Republic Act No. 11595, otherwise known as “An Act amending Republic Act No. 8762 or the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 (RTLA), by lowering the paid-up capital requirement for foreign retail enterprises and other purposes” was signed into law. It removes the requirement for a Certificate of Prequalification and the need to show compliance with the criteria for prequalification under the RTLA to the Philippine Board of Investments, before a foreign retailer can invest in or engage in a retail trade business in the Philippines.
On 28 December 2021, the Securities Commission of Malaysia revised the Rules on Take-overs, Mergers and Compulsory Acquisitions (Rules). The effective date of the revisions is 29 December 2021. This Alert focuses on the key amendments introduced to the Rules and a comparison against equivalent provisions under the United Kingdom’s Takeover Code, the Singapore Code on Take-Overs and Mergers and the Hong Kong Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Buy-Backs.
In this issue: Supreme People’s Court and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly issue guidance on overtime and working hours issues; Government provides administrative guidance for leading platform enterprises in order to protect gig workers; Beijing announces top 10 typical employment dispute arbitration cases of 2021; Company succeeds in liquidated damages claim against social media influencer; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and three other authorities issue document supporting young people from Hong Kong and Macao to take up employment or start a business in the Greater Bay Area
The legal regime of export and dual use items control and the trade control of items related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Thailand is currently governed by the Trade Control on Weapons of Mass Destruction Related Items Act B.E. 2562 (2019), which came into force on 1 January 2020.
As previously reported, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore commenced public consultation on the Business Collaboration Guidance Note from 30 July to 27 August 2021.
On December 16, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated eight Chinese tech companies to the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (“NS-CMIC”) list pursuant to Executive Order 13959, as amended by Executive Order 14032, for their alleged involvement in supporting surveillance of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, China. On the next day, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) also added 37 new parties to the BIS Entity List, including 25 Chinese companies for their alleged involvement in efforts to develop and use biotechnology and other technologies for military application and human rights abuses. These sanctions are part of an increase in US Government efforts to prevent alleged human rights abuses.
On 8 November 2021, the Government issued Decree No. 98/2021/ND-CP on management of medical devices (“Decree 98”). Decree 98 took effect from 1 January 2022 and replaced Decree No. 36/2016/ND-CP, Decree No. 169/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 03/2020/ND-CP.
Cyber fraud remains a significant risk to businesses and individuals. In the 11 months to November 2021, over 500 phishing scams, worth more than HKD 1.4 billion in losses, were reported to the Hong Kong Police. The Police have been developing and will soon launch a free software to assist businesses in identifying phishing scams.
Although criminal liabilities are of key concern and often seen as frightening risks for many businesses in Thailand, especially for foreign directors or executives, business operators may find themselves currently unequipped or that some businesses are more susceptible to criminal liabilities than others.