A key step towards the adoption of the EU AI Act was reached on 2 February 2024 as the draft text received unanimous approval from the European Council’s main preparatory body. There are further votes to follow before the Act is adopted, but it’s looking likely that the final vote will take place in April and some substantive provisions of the Act could be in force soon after that, possibly by the end of the year.
Baker McKenzie’s newly updated Global Private M&A Guide is a comprehensive resource examining the impact of new and existing laws affecting deal structuring and private M&A generally in nearly 40 jurisdictions.
On 29 January 2024, through Resolution No. 51/2024 (Resolution), the Secretariat of Commerce repealed a series of provisions and resolutions, with the purpose of reducing bureaucracy and simplifying the processes of the entire production and consumption chain. Within the framework of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency No. 70/2023 and the bill of “Bases and Starting Points for the freedom of Argentines”, which were recently promoted by the Executive Branch of the Nation, the Secretariat by means of the Resolution repealed more than 50 provisions and resolutions issued under its competence. This is in order to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the production processes in relation to consumer and to promote the elimination of certain obstacles and barriers within the trade industry.
With effect from 1 January 2024, the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) of the Czech Republic issued a new notice on compliance programs specifying how ÚOHS will consider internal competition compliance rules as a mitigating circumstance when imposing fines. Since 2022, ÚOHS has recognized the enhancement of an existing compliance program, or the introduction of a new program, as a mitigating circumstance when imposing fines, subject to certain conditions. Building on the experience gained, the new ÚOHS notice outlines the conditions that businesses must meet for a compliance program to be considered effective and by how much the imposed fines can be reduced.
On 10 January 2024, the Office of the SEC issued guidelines relating to listed company shareholder meetings to enhance good governance, transparency, and efficiency of the meeting, and to allow shareholders’ participation.
The FRC has published the revised version of the UK Corporate Governance Code. As flagged in its policy update statement in November, the revised Code makes much more limited changes than those proposed in the FRC’s initial consultation paper from May 2023. The majority of changes will take effect for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, with the exception of revised Provision 29, which will take effect a year later. The FRC has published updated guidance to sit alongside the revised Code.
Almost two long years following the announcement of proposed rules revising the framework for regulating initial public offerings and business combinations of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted in a three-two vote final rules on the topic. While much has changed in the SPAC market since the SEC’s proposed rules were announced – notably a cooling in the face of regulatory and economic headwinds – the final rules largely enact the SEC’s proposals from March 2022.
On 28 December 2023, the decree which amends, supplements, and abrogates certain provisions of the Mexican Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores) and the Law of Investment Funds (Ley de Fondos de Inversión), was published in the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación), and entered into force on the following day to its publication, i.e., on 29 December 2023. The decree establishes that the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público), with the prior opinion of the National Banking and Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) (CNBV) and Banco de México, shall issue within a period of no more than 365 days, from the date of its publication, secondary general provisions, regarding sustainable development, in order to strengthen corporate governance, adoption of best market practices and gender equality in corporations, issuers and other participants that operate within the Mexican securities market.
Against a backdrop of economic stagnation and geopolitical conflict, businesses are preparing for a challenging year. Global disputes will continue at pace, according to insights from more than 600 senior lawyers at large corporations, with ESG and employment risks the greatest areas of concern. Our seventh annual report provides detailed analysis of disputes trends, as well as sectoral and region-specific developments, to prepare your organization for The Year Ahead.
On 26 January 2024, China issued significantly higher merger filing turnover-based thresholds, with immediate effect. Notably, China has removed a hybrid threshold proposed in the June 2022 draft, which was based on both revenue and market value of target companies and purported to target high-value “killer” acquisitions.