LexisNexis International & Foreign: International & Foreign

CBRC Opening the Door for Acquisition Financing

Nelzon Zhou — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:42:01 GMT

On 6 December 2008, the China Banking Regulatory Commission ("CBRC") promulgated the Guidelines on Risk Management of Loans Extended by Commercial Banks for Merger and Acquisition ("Guidelines"), which came into effect on the same day. The Guidelines signify a gradual relaxation of the long-time restriction on the conduct of

The Influence of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act on the Public-Private Partnership in Nigeria

Ayuli Jemide — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:52:06 GMT

The Nigerian government has come to realize that the private sector can immensely contribute to the implementation of its policies, as a recent shift in government behavior to public-private partnership (PPP) shows. The federal government of Nigeria passed legislation to promote PPPs. Ayuli Jemide argues that the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Act of 2005 will speed the growth of Public-Private Partners

Sanver on Turkey/Italy and Turkey/Spain Prevention of Double Taxation Treaties

Ali I Sanver — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:19:51 GMT

In this Emerging Issues commentary, Dr. Ali I. Sanver of Pekin & Pekin discusses Articles 23/4 and 22/1/d of the Turkey/Italy and Turkey/Spain prevention of double taxation treaties. He analyzes whether these articles will offer a unique opportunity for cross-border financial structuring in relation to dividends, royalties and interest income. He writes:

Not So Good Migrations: The New UK Points Based System Has Poor Vibrations for Immigration

Laura Devine — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:21:23 GMT

Leading UK immigration solicitor Laura Devine looks at the UK's new Point Based System for immigration decisions and explores the complexitites and vagaries that exist in a new system that was supposed to be a model of simplicity and transparency. As Ms. Devine discusses the provisions applicable to Tier 1 and Tier 2 migrants, she exposes the w

Trademark Disputes and Protection -- Some Casework and Hypothetical Examples where Best Practice Dictates a Comprehensive Linguistic Analysis

C.J. Storey-White — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:51:52 GMT

A comprehensive linguistic approach to the analysis and assessment of marks for similarity and confusion reveals that there is a highly complex set of mechanisms involved in processing marks, some of which may not be immediately apparent. Practitioners must recognize that such analysis provides an extremely powerful empirical application which

Franchising in China

Ella Cheong — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:29:53 GMT

Franchising in China started with KFC in 1987, by the end of 2006, there were about 200,000 franchise stores with over 3,000,000 jobs. Sales figures released in March 2007 reveal sales volume by franchising in China reached RMB102 billion (USD16 billion). Some enterprises began using brands to run factories an

The Estonian Supreme Court's Latest Word on the Substance Over Form Principle

Jaak Siim — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:41:49 GMT

On 17 June 2009, in a case already called "the tax dispute of the century in Estonia", the Supreme Court of Estonia gave instruction on determining the existence of an intent of tax evasion. This decision is a landmark change in the Estonian court tax practice from the form principle used by tax authorities towards the principle of su

The New Budgetary Architecture of the EU in View of the Financial and Economic Crisis

Dimitrios Skiadas — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:51:12 GMT

Usually, the European Union is accused of slow reflexes. The EU budgetary reaction to the global financial crisis indicated that there is scope, room, and potential for improvement. This commentary discusses the various parameters of this reaction and its importance in the EU budgetary architecture.

This article provides a short overview over Swiss disclosure rules relating to the holding of significant stakes in Swiss companies listed in Switzerland in general with a focus on the most important changes of law and ordinances.

As of 16 September 2007, a new Insolvency Code governs insolvency and restructuring in Greece. The Code strives to abandon the inefficiency and archaic obscurity of the old law and to institute an efficient and effective insolvency regime drawing on the most current international economic and legal analysis, comparative analysis of foreign inso

The Privy Council and the Caribbean Court of Justice: Issues for Future Practice

Trevor Carmichael & David Williams — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:44:13 GMT

Judicial appeals from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states account for a large part of the UK Councils work, despite the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Justice as the regions final court of appeal. Lord Phillips, the President of the UK’s new Supreme Court, calls the time the P.C.l spends on Commonwealth cases as "disproportio

New Whistleblower Leniency Regulations in Hungary

Chrysta Ban — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:10:49 GMT

For a cartel member to receive immunity or reduced exposure to punishment for reporting a cartel to competition authorities is available in many jurisdictions. In a multi-jurisdictional context, it is important that conduct that a whistleblower reveals on the basis of immunity in one jurisdiction is not prosecuted fully in another based of suc

Hotlines and Cross Border Issues

Mark Schreiber, Socheth Sor & Theo Godfrey — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:03:46 GMT

Whether voluntary or required, whistleblower hotlines create data protection dilemmas that need to be addressed in detailed, updated compliance programs. The implementation of a pan-European hotline is riddled with complexity and numerous steps because there is no one-size-fits-all solution. In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Mark Schreiber, Socheth Sor, and Theo Godfrey discuss some of the traps faced by practitioners and com

The Emergence of Estoppel Concept in Civil Law

Marwan Sakr — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:53 GMT

Recent Lebanese and French court precedents show an extensive application of the common law theory of estoppel; the rulings are based upon various, but similar, legal reasoning, such as the inadmissibility for a party to contradict itself to the detriment of another, or breach of the duty of loyalty and good faith in arbitration-re

US Discovery in Foreign Proceedings

Geoffrey Gauci & Andrew Waters — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:44:55 GMT

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The Government of the Grand-Duchy Decision to Adopt the OECD Standard on Terms of Exchange of Information in Tax Matters

Yann Baden — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:26:07 GMT

Luxembourg has long been a major banking center, but in recent years that status has been threatened by charges that its banks condone money-laundering and tax evasion. The Grand-Duchy has now moved to assuage its partners in this respect while maintaining banking secrecy to protect the privacy of clients and discourage random fishing expeditio

Regulation Regarding Money Laundering in Uruguay

Diego Baldomir — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:31:35 GMT

Uruguay has traditionally been an active participant in the struggle against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Diego Baldomir, a partner with Guyer & Regules in Uruguay, discusses Uruguay's various regulations designed to combat this activity.

Schering-Plough Corporation v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77467, the court's decision for the Government is a clarion call to taxpayers that even in cases when the taxpayer may be technically in compliance with relevant law, transactions -- particularly transfer pricing -- will

Compliance with Legislation Governing Corruption in South Africa

Matthew Purchase — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:56:05 GMT

Many multinational companies are familiar with the provisions of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and take measures to comply, however, this does not protect a company from prosecution for offenses committed under local laws (in this case, South African legislation). This Emerging Issues Analysis, discusses the applicable legal and legislat

Chowdhury v. Worldtel and Sinaltrainal v. Coca Cola

Jonathan Drimmer & Laura Ardito — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:21:31 GMT

Two similar recent cases by courts construing and applying the Alien Tort Statute demonstrate that courts will strictly apply the recent pleading standards set forth by the Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, but that if those standards can be met, the case can result in a plaintiffs verdict. This Emerging Issues Analysis, by Jonathan Drimmer a

Robert B. Jennings and Elizabeth Taishoff Sweigart on Serious Tax Implications for U.S. Multinationals in the Proposed Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

Robert Jennings and Elizabeth Sweigart — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:33:05 GMT

Embedded in the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 are two pieces of tax legislation that can potentially cause uncertainty for multinational enterprises. This Emerging Issues Analysis explores H.R. 3200 and Congress's proposal to codify the economic substance doctrine, and provides tax practitioners with insight into how their U.S. multinational clients’ tax planning -- particularly with respect to transfer pricing -- may b

China's Value-Added Tax Reform Factors Not to be Ignored

Clare Lu and Catherine F. Chen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:21:29 GMT

On November 10, 2008, the State Council promulgated the revised Tentative Regulations on Value-added Tax of the People's Republic of China (the Tentative Regulations) in advance of full-scale value-added tax (VAT) reform in Mainland China.

Authors Clare Lu and Catherine Chen write: Since 1994, the Production Typ

Income Tax Filing by Enterprises with Trans-regional Branches

Clare Lu and Catherine F. Chen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:59:29 GMT

Prior to the unification of PRC Enterprise Income Tax (EIT) systems for domestic enterprises and Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs), different rules were applied to combined EIT filing by domestic enterprises and FIEs having trans-regional branches. The EIT laws and regulations governing domestic enterprises (the Old EIT Regime) use "inde

China Banking Regulatory Commission Opening the Door for Acquisition Financing

Nelzon Zhou — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:06:55 GMT

The rapidly-developing Chinese economy attracts overseas private equity (PE) funds to invest in China. This analysis is a brief introduction to some of the issues that arise when overseas PE funds make pre-IPO equity investment in PRC companies. For example, pushing an invested company to be converted into a company limited by shares and listed

Choice of Forum in European Patent Litigation

Molly Beutz Land & Nicole Kennedy — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:43:41 GMT

Jurisdictional rules governing choice of forum in patent litigation in the European Union are inconsistent and inefficient. Once a patent is granted by the European Patent Office, it is issued as national European patents in the countries where patent protection is sought. Claims of infringement must be brought in the countries where the plaintiff seek

Forum Shopping in China: CIETAC vs. UNCITRAL

Huang Tao & Dai Yue — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:27:13 GMT

Lacking knowledge of and exposure to Chinas judicial and arbitrational system, foreign companies usually worry about dispute resolution clauses more than any other clause in a contract. Deciding which arbitration tribunal and what arbitration rules to specify becomes a sensitive and important aspect of contract negotiations for wholly foreign o

Chinese Regulatory Reform in Insurance and Banking

Zhan Hao — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:50:22 GMT

New policy permits banks to be shareholders of insurance companies. Earlier this year, it became clearer that insurance companies may now invest in Chinese banks. In February, news from Chinese regulatory departments indicated banks would be allowed to invest in insurance companies. It was noted that this would be subject to regulations from the China

Turkish Councils Resolution on Taxation of Cross-Border Dividends

Ali I Sanver — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:13:06 GMT

The Turkish Council of State recently passed a resolution regarding the taxation of cross-border dividends pursuant to the Netherlands-Turkey avoidance of double taxation treaty, In this commentary, Ali I. Sanver, a partner at Pekin & Pekin in Istanbul, Turkey, discusses this resolution and its implications and offers his recommendations.

Private Equity Funds in China and Pre-IPO Equity

Wayne Chen & Patrick Chen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:58:20 GMT

This analysis is a brief introduction to some of the issues that arise when overseas PE funds make pre-IPO equity investment in PRC companies. For example, pushing an invested company to be converted into a company limited by shares and listed in China's A-share market has become an exit mode accepted by overseas PE funds.

On January 30, 2009, the Second Circuit reinstated a consolidated case filed by parents and guardians of Nigerian children against Pfizer, employing an analysis that indicates an increasing comfort in allowing ATCA cases to proceed where serious violations of international law may be

Drimmer on Sarei v. Rio Tinto, 550 F.3d 822 (9th Cir. 2008)

Jonathan Drimmer — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:01:31 GMT

This commentary, discussing the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Sarei v.

Taxation of Capital Gains in Peru

Gustavo Lazo & Giorgio L. Massari — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:55:19 GMT

The taxation of capital gains resulting from the transfer of securities in Peru is on the brink of change. Legislative Decree 972, in force as of January 1, 2009, intends to modify the past regime repealing the long standing income tax exemption to this type of capital gain. In this commentary, Gustavo Lazo, a partner in Estudio Olaechea and his associ

New Portuguese Insurance Contract Framework (Decree-Law 72/2008, of April 16)

L Soares da Silva, M Lima Rego & M Torres Gama — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:36:23 GMT

Excerpt:

The New Portuguese Insurance Contract Framework, published in April 2008 and in force as from 1 January 2009, definitely represents an important progress towards legal certainty in what concerns the ba

Civil Liability Insurance Contracts for Directors under Portuguese Companies Code

L Soares da Silva, J Pereira Dias, J Galvo Teles — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:32:15 GMT

In this Expert Commentary, authors Luisa Soares da Silva, Joana Pereira Dias and Joana Galvao Teles identify and analyze the main types of civil liability insurance contracts for directors their scope, terms and limits under article 396 of the Portuguese Companies Code, as amended by the deep reform on the corporate governance rules and models introduc

The Use of Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements in Mexico

Alejandra Escandon Torres & Paola Diaz Silva — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:01:38 GMT

Excerpt:

During the 1980s, the Mexican government decided to open its real estate and personal property market to foreign investors, after many other countries had done so during the 1970s. The objective was to increase the