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In Asia-Pacific

Vietnam: Tax, Customs & Regulatory Aspects of Vietnam’s Automobile Industry

by , and 2 Mins Read

Vietnam’s automotive industry has experienced steady progress in recent years. With Vietnam having a population of nearly 100 million and a sustainable economy, this growth trend is expected to continue.

The development of Vietnam’s automotive industry remains one of the government’s main focuses, with new laws and policies to promote the development of this industry.

Baker McKenzie’s new publication, Tax, Customs and Regulatory Aspects of Vietnam’s Automobile Industry, aims to provide an initial view of key legal aspects that affect Vietnam’s automobile industry.

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In Cybersecurity, Data and Tech

United Arab Emirates: Updates on the Consumer Protection Law

by and 5 Mins Read

The long awaited Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection (“Consumer Protection Law”) has been issued on 10 November 2020 and is a major update which aims to revamp and repeal the old UAE consumer protection laws, being Federal Law No. 24 of 2006 (“Old Law”). Due to the rapid rise of e-commerce globally, including in the UAE, the Consumer Protection Law now acknowledges and captures e-commerce service providers. The Consumer Protection Law has also now imposed a restriction on using personal data of customers for marketing and promotion purposes.

In North America

United States: SEC Adopts New Framework for Investment Adviser Marketing

by , and 24 Mins Read

The SEC recently adopted amendments that dramatically reshape the rules governing investment adviser marketing by creating a single rule (“Marketing Rule”) for investment adviser advertising and referral arrangements. The new approach is an elegant solution designed to fulfill the SEC staff’s objective of retaining a principles-based framework while modernizing the rule to remain flexible to accommodate evolving technologies such as social media. The Marketing Rule is effective within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, but advisers have 18 months to transition to the new requirements. 

In Asia-Pacific

Indonesia: Indonesia sets out its COVID-19 vaccine procurement scheme

by , and 9 Mins Read

On 22 October 2020, the Minister of Health (MOH) issued MOH Regulation No. 28 of 2020 on the Procurement of Vaccines for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) (“MOH Regulation 28”). MOH Regulation 28 is an implementing regulation of the Presidential Regulation No. 99 on the Procurement of COVID-19 Vaccine and Vaccination of COVID-19 (“PR 99”). We have addressed some of the key takeaways under PR 99 in our previous client alert. You can find the link to the client alert here.

MOH Regulation 28 regulates on four main themes of COVID-19 vaccine procurement:  (i) types and amount of vaccine for procurement, (ii) procedure for procurement of vaccines, (iii) procedure for payment for vaccines and (iv) guidance and supervision on the procurement of vaccines.

As stipulated under PR 99, MOH has appointed PT Bio Farma (Persero) (“Bio Farma”) as the state-owned enterprise that will lead the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia. MOH Regulation 28 applies for all COVID-19 vaccines yet to come, not limited to the one that is being developed under the partnership between Government of Indonesia (GOI) (i.e., through Bio Farma) and Sinovac.

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In Europe

EU: COVID-19 – Brussels’ battle for health powers

by 4 Mins Read

The EU has urged member countries to grant more legal powers to the EU in pursuit of a ‘Health Union’, which would enable the EU to better manage future crises. This announcement comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed areas of weakness and gaps in the EU’s health powers. Critics argue that the pandemic has seen a lack of effective measures to monitor medicines shortages, that the EU Infectious Diseases Agency’s advice lacked effectiveness, and that there was a disjointed approach to the virus across EU member states. In response, the Commission expressed desire to make the following changes:

create an EU-wide pandemic preparedness plan
align testing methods with EU labs
give the European Medicines Agency (EMA) more power to mitigate drug shortages

In Antitrust / Competition

Singapore: Doctors strongly cautioned not to participate in platforms that use patient feedback and ratings

by and 4 Mins Read

In an advisory released on November 25 2020, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) strongly cautioned medical practitioners against participating in online search engine optimisation platforms that make use of patient and feedback ratings, or buying packages from the same for the purpose of obtaining patient testimonials. Doing so may be construed as making or expressly agreeing to the use of patient testimonials in their advertising, in contravention of provisions under SMC’s Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG) and the Handbook of Medical Ethics (“Handbook”).

In Asia-Pacific

Singapore: Issuance of draft Advisory Guidelines on Key Provisions of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill

by , and 8 Mins Read

On 20 November 2020, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) issued the draft Advisory Guidelines on Key Provisions of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill (“Guidelines”). 

We had summarized in our previous client alerts the changes proposed during the public consultation (“Consultation Paper”) on the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill (“Bill”), as well as the salient differences between the Consultation Paper and the Bill that was introduced and read in the Singapore Parliament on 5 October 2020. The Bill has since been passed by Parliament on 2 November 2020 (“Act”). 

For this client alert, we will focus on a few pertinent points that have been highlighted in the Guidelines.

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