On 17 February 2022, the we launched our Central Asia in Focus webinar series, discussing trends, challenges and opportunities in the region. In our five-episode webinar series, we will be discussing a wide range topics with experts from Banking & Finance, corporate, regulatory and other practices.
Episode 1: Update on recent developments in Kazakhstan: Aviation
Episode 2: Data protection and Covid-19: Trends, insights and comparison with the GDPR
It has been noted that the price volatility of essential food items in South Africa is under the watchful eye of the competition authority in South Africa. This is after legal interventions intended to guard against price increases during the pandemic were repealed when the National State of Disaster ended in early April 2022. At the same time, businesses that operate in the Consumer Goods and Retail sector are dealing with ongoing supply chain disruption.
The Minister of Employment and Labour in South Africa has recently published three important legal developments affecting South African employers and employees – the Draft National Labour Migration Policy and Employment Services Amendment Bill, the Code of Practice for Managing Exposure to Sars-CoV-2 in the Workplace 2022, and the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace.
As part of our continued efforts to guide clients through these challenging times, the Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Group brings you these recorded webinars which provide key and practical insights on employment and compensation trends and major challenges being faced by businesses across the region.
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement is gathering momentum on streamlining intra-African trade across the continent, thereby providing exciting opportunities for pandemic recovery and growth.
On 2 February 2022, the Madrid Regional Council passed the Draft Open Market Bill, which is currently undergoing a parliamentary procedure at the Madrid Assembly and is expected to be passed by June 2022. Once it is passed, it will become enforceable three months after it is published in Madrid’s Official Regional Gazette. The approval of this Draft Bill takes place in a context in which the European Union has urged the Member States to adopt measures to eliminate obstacles to the free movement of goods and services, particularly after the economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19.
The leveraged finance market in 2021 saw record-breaking levels of activity, mainly driven by private equity M&A and LBOs, comprised mainly of opportunistic deals or ones which had previously been put on hold. The report looks at how the EMEA leveraged finance market is responding to COVID-19 challenges, the emerging market and ESG. It also covers predictions on direct lending, the impact of new Fintech options, and the effect of rising interest rates.
Organizations that rely on supply chains in Africa are looking at ways to strengthen pandemic-impacted chains. Many effective treatments aimed at boosting the health of ailing chains are being implemented, including those that rely on digitization, sustainability standards, and improving infrastructure and manufacturing capacity.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection issued Resolution 392 of 2021, by which it modified Article 2 and sections 4.1 and 5 of the technical annex of Resolution 666 of 2020, recently modified by Resolution 223 of 2021 regarding biosafety protocols.
Given the on-going COVID-19 health emergency, the Commission of the Andean Community has recently extended exceptional and temporary provisions applicable to health products (cosmetics, household hygiene products and absorbents for personal use).