From governments to private investors, big pharma to biotechs, organizations inside and outside the region are reimagining healthcare and life sciences to improve access, outcomes and affordability. This requires capital investment, collaboration and change at levels rarely seen before. In our digital campaign, we explore this dynamic through two main themes and identify six key market opportunities.
Effective on 25 March 2024, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (“SET”) updated the requirements for acquisition, by a listed company or its subsidiaries, of the assets of a non-listed company (“Backdoor Listing”), and the requirements for the listing of securities of a company formed by amalgamation between a listed company and non-listed company (“Relisting”). These revisions aim to strengthen the consideration process and the required qualifications of companies proceeding with Backdoor Listing and Relisting, in order to maintain the same standards comparable to a new listing.
On 12 March 2024, the Cabinet approved in principle the draft Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (No..), B.E. (“New Alcoholic Beverage Bill”) as proposed by the Ministry of Public Health. The New Alcoholic Beverage Bill has now been forwarded to the Office of the Council of State for further consideration.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to boost intra-African trade by more than 81 percent in the next decade. To ensure such advantages are obtained, a number of AfCFTA Protocols have been developed to facilitate sustainable investment and harmonize policy and regulations across African Union member states, including a Protocol on Investment. The Investment Protocol provides the continent with a clear set of guidelines and principles to expedite financing and investment across the continent’s new free trade zone. With trade finance considered a critical enabler of cross-border investment in Africa, the Investment Protocol is also assisting development finance institutions, increasingly important in bridging Africa’s trade finance gap, to more seamlessly support such investment.
On 11 March 2024, Minister of Interior Decree No. 16/2024 (III. 11) on the issuance of the list of strategic medicinal products (“Decree”) was published. The Decree introduces a new stockpiling obligation on medicinal product wholesale license holders.
On 25 March 2024, the National Securities Commission (CNV) issued General Resolution No. 994/2024, which regulates the Registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers in line with the provisions of Section 38 of the recently amended Law No. 25246 (“Law”). This Law had incorporated virtual asset service providers (VASPs) as AML/FT-regulated entities.
On 26 March 2024, Directive (EU) 2024/927 amending the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive relating to delegation arrangements, liquidity risk management, supervisory reporting, provision of depositary and custody services and loan origination by alternative investment funds (AIFMD II or “Directive”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
AIFMD II will enter into force on 15 April 2024.
Greenwashing refers to the practice of making exaggerated, misleading or unsubstantiated claims in relation to the sustainability credentials of financial products and services. The risk of greenwashing claims has risen significantly in recent years, in tandem with investor demand for more sustainable investment products. This has been evidenced not only by well-publicized enforcement action both in Europe and the UK, but also by a flurry of recent claims by NGOs against financial institutions.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore commenced an investigation under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 (CPFTA) against a water filtration system supplier (“Supplier”) for unfair practices between September 2021 and November 2023.
The Supplier was found to be making false claims about its sales kit, misleading promotion listings, and misleading claims on the health benefits of alkaline or filtered water, from its website and social media pages.
Our popular Annual Compliance Conference, which attracts over 4,000 in-house senior legal and compliance professionals every year from across the world, will be taking place from 30 April – 6 June. We will be delivering our cutting-edge insights and guidance virtually on key global compliance, investigations and ethics trends.