In this month's M&A Special Report, industry experts from Malaysia's Wong & Partners indicate that M&A is on the rise in Asia, buoyed by outward investment into a debt-ridden Europe; Tilleke & Gibbins fill us in on the local characteristics intrinsic to Vietnam which foreign investors need to be mindful of; Thanathip & Partners discuss the impact of the ASEAN Association on activity in Thailand; and Bin Shabib Associates (BSA) LLP assess the common pitfalls encountered by foreign investors in the Middle East. Finally, Phoenix Legal navigate us through the milestones and minefields embedded in the Indian M&A landscape.
Terence Lau and Donald Fung of Hogan Lovells unveil some novel provisions which have been incorporated into the new Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, and discuss their significance in the context of strengthening the city’s position as an international corporate centre.
Ayesha Dawood of the eponymous Johannesburg based firm, Ayesha Dawood Attorneys, considers the importance of governance and accountability with reference to the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act No. 12 of 2003 (PACCA) and sheds light on the issue of extraterritorial effect.
Muhammad Tariq, Senior Legal Counsel at TECOM Investments shares with us his experience working in-house after closing the chapter on his days as an M&A private practitioner at Al Tamimi & Company. Leaving his former position somewhat reluctantly at first, he is now comfortably juggling the many roles the in-house move has demanded of him and offers up his advice for managing the position with efficiency, humility and decorum.
Last year’s strong M&A activity in Asia has continued in the first half of 2011. In our Special Report, senior lawyers practising in the field share their insights into the factors driving activity, from Asia’s thirst for overseas acquisitions to foreign companies trying to gain a foothold in emerging markets. Find out why Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami could stimulate outbound investment, and how the UAE’s distinct business culture can present challenges for the unwary investor. Features articles contributed by Hogan Lovells, K&L Gates, Melli Darsa & Co, Phoenix Legal, Tilleke & Gibbins, DFDL Mekong and Indochine Counsel.
In this month’s Special Report on dispute resolution, we take a look at how Asia Pacific’s role as an international centre for dispute resolution, particularly arbitration, has grown against a backdrop of increasing cross-border transactions. As demand has grown exponentially, so Asia’s leading arbitration centres – including HKIAC, KCAB and SIAC – have moved with the times to maximise the services they provide in a constantly evolving legal framework. We examine some of the key new laws which have shaped dispute resolution in 2010 and outline some of the challenges in pursuing justice through both litigation and arbitration.
Matthias Schroeder, former head of Beiten Burkhardt’s Asia desk in Munich, explains the concept of “guanxi” and how to stay the right side of the PRC’s increasingly stringent corruption laws when conducting business there
