The UAE has introduced a number of new welcome legislative changes to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary, with the aim of solidifying the country’s position as a global trade and commercial hub. Among these changes is the issuance of Federal Law by Decree No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies (“New Law”), which has now come into force last 2 January 2022.
On 17 September 2021, the Federal Council adopted a partial revision of the Chemicals Control Ordinance, which entered into force on 1 November 2021. With the revision, the licensing procedures for the production of certain chemicals for research, medical and pharmaceutical purposes have been simplified.
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.
On Wednesday, 15 December 2022, the European Commission adopted its proposals for a new EU Gas Package, through a recast of the Gas Directive and Gas Regulation. Below is a summary of the main updates.
On 14 December 2021, CETESB (Environmental Agency of the State of São Paulo) published Board Decision No. 125/2021/E of 9 December 2021, which approved the updated list of thresholds for contaminants in the soil and groundwater in the State of São Paulo and revoked the former list approved by Board Decision No. 256/2016/E, of 22 November 2016.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health issued the ministerial regulation on the application for and the issuance of the license for the manufacturing, import, export, sale or possession of cannabis.
On 11 October 2021, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCCS) issued a press release announcing that it had successfully obtained a Court order against a sole proprietor trading under the business name “Fire Safety & Prevention (SG)” for engaging in a series of unfair trade practices.
On 26 November 2021, the Consumers Association of Singapore launched the Standard Dispute Management Framework for E-marketplaces (“Framework”). The Framework serves as a guide for E-marketplaces on how to resolve consumer disputes speedily and fairly, and which would give greater assurance to consumers when they shop online.
On 12 September 2018, four deputies presented a bill or motion that sought to implement a mining royalty for the mining exploitation of copper and lithium in Chile. The royalty would be different from the Specific Mining Tax in force in the country. According to the proposed bill, the need for this ‘new’ royalty is due mainly to the poor participation of the Specific Mining Tax in Chile’s gross domestic product in contrast with the large profits for those in the mining industry.