The Doing Business in the Philippines handbook aims to equip both local and foreign entrepreneurs with a practical guide to navigating the ever-evolving business landscape in the Philippines. It provides information on the requirements needed when setting up and operating a business in the Philippines, including incentives under special registrations, taxation, employment, IP, dispute resolution, and industry-specific regulations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand has amended the requirements for offerings by foreign entities of Baht-denominated bonds and foreign-currency-denominated bonds. These revisions aim to enhance protection for investors and market credibility. The changes also mark the transfer from the Ministry of Finance of Thailand, which until now had the power to grant approval to foreign issuers for issuances of Baht bonds, to the SEC. The amendments came into effect on 1 January 2024.
On 8 January 2024, the Financial Information Unit (UIF for its Spanish abbreviation) issued Resolution No. 1/2023, establishing minimum requirements for the identification, evaluation, monitoring, management, and mitigation of money laundering and terrorist financing risks applicable to persons or legal entities that perform remittances within and outside Argentina. The Resolution is aligned with prior resolutions issued by the UIF for other regulated entities. Accordingly, the Resolution changes the approach from formal regulatory compliance to a risk-based approach.
The regulatory reform of European long-term investment funds enters into force on 10 January 2024, following its approval by the European Parliament and the Council in February 2023.
Regulation (EU) 2023/606 aims at revitalizing a vehicle that was put in place back in 2015 but which, in the words of the Regulation itself, “did not scale up as expected.”
With this in mind, the new regime tackles the shortfalls identified both on the managers’ side- as they will now find themselves dealing with a much more flexible product in items such as eligible assets, borrowing, or concentration and diversification rules – as well as on the side of the investors, notably retail investors, whose access to this investment product now becomes simpler.
On 4 December 2023, the FCA published a consultation on rules and guidance to integrate the Overseas Funds Regime (OFR) into the Handbook and to enable recognition of overseas funds from jurisdictions approved by HM Treasury. The new rules and guidance will operationalize the OFR, implementing the regime’s framework to allow recognized overseas funds to be marketed to UK retail investors. The proposals include the information to be submitted with an application for recognition, notifications of changes, and enhanced disclosures regarding lack of access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Financial Ombudsman Service.
On 12 December 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it will proceed with the proposal to require financial institutions to conduct and respond to reference checks. The reference check requirements have been introduced following the MAS’ June 2021 public consultation on proposals to mandate reference checks.
Over the last few months, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made a few legislative changes in relation to the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) regulations as well as the associated administrative penalties, with the issuance of:
- Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023 on the Regulation of the Real Beneficiary Procedures (the “New Resolution”), which came into effect on 16 November 2023 and superseded Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020. The New Resolution applies to all corporate entities incorporated in the UAE mainland and in the non-financial free zones;
- Cabinet Decision No. 132 of 2023 relating to the administrative fines for violations of the New Resolution, which was issued on 15 December 2023 and superseded Cabinet Decision No. 53 of 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has amended and issued regulations (17 in total) to provide clarity regarding the nature of businesses that may be considered investment companies. The amended regulations also impose disclosure obligations, where an investment company is also a listed company, and prohibit any investment companies from offering securities, except in limited circumstances. These regulations became effective on 1 January 2024.
A new law introducing a banker’s oath and deontological regime for directors and certain bank employees was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 15 January 2024.
The oath requires directors and certain bank employees to make an individual declaration, by which they undertake to respect, in the exercise of their professional activities, some important new deontological rules.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue recently issued Revenue Regulations No. 16-2023, which sets out the guidelines on the imposition of withholding tax on gross remittances by electronic marketplace operators and digital financial services providers to online sellers/merchants, in connection with goods and services sold or paid through the former’s platform.
The Regulations took effect on 12 January 2024.