Executive Summary: This third annual edition of Governance Insights presents Davies’ analysis of the corporate governance practices of Canadian public companies over the course of 2013 and the trends and issues that influenced and shaped them. We expect 2014 to be an active year for governance themes with greater calls for diversity on boards, a … Continued
Highlights: On December 2, 2013, the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”) released its Opinions on the Financial Support of the Development of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the “FTZ”) (the “Opinions”). The Opinions committed to the promotion of reforms and pilots in the FTZ in the sectors of cross-border RMB usage, RMB capital … Continued
Highlights: There has been increasing uncertainty about the circumstances in which foreign investors in A-REITs need to notify their investment to FIRB and seek the Treasurer’s approval. To address this, FIRB has published a press release providing a safe harbour for foreign investors and issuers in which acquisitions of units in listed and other public … Continued
Executive Summary: Although Spain’s current microeconomic situation is still critical, the macroeconomic framework is more stable; it appears that Spain is once again becoming regarded as a safe jurisdiction for investors. This stability, together with a steep fall in valuations, is reinvigorating the market, and investors have begun looking at future investment opportunities. This article, … Continued
Executive Summary: The Hungarian Competition Authority (“GVH”) amended the documents – including the merger filing form – related to merger control proceedings in the summer of 2013, with the declared aim of further decreasing the administrative burdens placed on market players. Further to the amendments of the merger documents, amendments to Hungary’s Competition Act (“CA”) … Continued
Executive Summary: Recently, public interest considerations (with particular reference to employment) in merger proceedings have become a focus area such that it is now common practice that the competition authorities are required to consider the effect which a proposed transaction will have on (i) a particular industrial sector or region, (ii) employment, (iii) the ability … Continued
Highlights: A letter of intent is especially helpful in a cross-border transaction to memorialize the basic terms of a proposed deal when differences in culture, deal structuring techniques, due diligence styles, and documentation standards can add layers of challenge. Typical provisions in a letter of intent are discussed below. The default rule under Japanese law … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: Deal activity was relatively strong in Q3, with global M&A volume of US$717 billion, marking the second strongest quarter of the past two calendar years. Strong Q3 performance was driven in part by Verizon’s $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone’s 45% interest in Verizon Wireless, the third largest deal in history. Excluding Verizon/Vodafone, Q3 … Continued
Highlights: The establishment of a free trade area between the EU and Singapore is expected to have significant benefits for Singapore and EU companies. Annual EU exports to Singapore could rise by EUR 1.4 billion over 10 years and annual exports by Singapore companies (including EU companies based in Singapore) could rise by EUR 3.5 … Continued
Highlights: The highly anticipated China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the “Zone”) was officially launched on September 27, 2013, followed by a flurry of implementing rules and measures. The central government of China expects the Zone to be the country’s testing ground for groundbreaking economic reforms to be extended nationwide in the future. The most … Continued
