Issues

Highlights: SASAC issued new regulations recently, under which SASAC has adopted the concept of Negative List, and further strengthened its supervision of outbound investment by central enterprises. Main Article The State-owned Asset Supervision & Administration Commission of the State Council (“SASAC”) published the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Outbound Investment of Central Enterprises … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: A long-running, two-year effort by the senior corporate governance heads of major U.S. investors to develop the first stewardship code for the U.S. market culminated today in the launch of the Investor Stewardship Group (ISG) and ISG’s associated Framework for U.S. Stewardship and Governance. Investor co-founders and signatories include U.S. Asset Managers (BlackRock; … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights:  Global M&A activity had a slow start and a strong finish in 2016, totaling nearly US$3.7 trillion, posting the second strongest year since the financial crisis (lower only than 2015). 2016 also accounted for the second highest cross-border deal volume (US$1.4 trillion) since the financial crisis, with cross-border deals announced in 2016 accounting … Continued

Highlights: After deliberations over more than a year’s time, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (“NPC Standing Committee”) finally adopted the Cyber Security Law (“CSL”) on November 7, 2016.  The CSL is the first omnibus law in China governing cyber security issues and has incorporated a number of new legal concepts and requirements … Continued

Highlights: Global M&A volume in 2016 continued to be robust, reaching $3.7 trillion, approximately 40% of which involved cross-border deals, as compared to one-third in 2015.  Five out of the ten largest deals of the year were cross-border transactions.  The pace of deals grew during the second half of the year, especially in the U.S., … Continued

Main Article: During this sensitive time when capital control measures are about to come out, through an interview of officials of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”), the Xinhua News Agency on December 8 revealed the details and direction of policy on the recent tightening of overseas direct investment (“ODI“).  The effects on ODI … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: The new Dutch Corporate Governance Code, issued December 8, 2016, provides an interesting analog to The New Paradigm, A Roadmap for an Implicit Corporate Governance Partnership Between Corporations and Investors to Achieve Sustainable Long-Term Investment and Growth, issued September 2, 2016, by the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. The new … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: The evolution of corporate governance over the last three decades has produced meaningful changes in the expectations of shareholders and the business policies adopted to meet those expectations. Decision-making power has shifted away from industrialists, entrepreneurs and builders of businesses, toward greater empowerment of institutional investors, hedge funds and other financial managers. As … Continued

Highlights The Australian public M&A market has seen steady activity levels, with modest growth in deal volumes (by value) in the 12 months to 30 June 2016 (FY16). Success rates have remained steady, with 73% of deals announced in FY16 being completed. The level of contested bid activity rebounded in FY16 with 6 targets attracting … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: October 1 saw the coming into effect of the most significant reform of French contract law since the Napoleonic code was first promulgated in 1804.  We survey below some of the key takeaways for dealmakers. The reform was notably motivated by a desire to maintain the attractiveness of French law. One of the … Continued