International Developments

Shearman & Sterling Discusses How UK Banking Is Affecting Global FinTech

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In an increasingly virtual world, law and regulation act as a vital safety net for businesses. The nature of that safety net varies, depending on the particular legal jurisdiction where the businesses are located. Global providers in the FinTech arena can be mobile and nimble and must choose their home country for these purposes carefully. The U.K. has leading-edge regulators, world class courts, a liberal regulatory landscape and a predictable legal system, based on the “common law” precedent-based method which is preferred globally. As such, the U.K. is uniquely positioned to develop reliable and trustworthy FinTech services and to build … Read more

Skadden Discusses New EU Merger Regulation Guidance

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The new Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) Guidance[1] released by the European Commission (EC) enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national (or EU) merger control rules.

Summary

  • The new guidance indicates that the EC will actively monitor deal activity to identify transactions that may be candidates for an Article 22 referral. While a formal referral request should be made by a national competition authority (NCA), the EC will “encourage and accept” referrals and may proactively “invite” NCAs to make referrals, even if national merger control thresholds are not met.

… Read more

The Shareholder in France and the U.S.: Comparing Corporate Legal Priorities

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The fundamental question in the law of business organizations – what is the purpose of the corporation? – contains a related question of constituencies and, therefore, priorities among them: Whom does the corporation serve?  If, for example, the purpose that justifies the existence of the corporation is the maximization of share price, then it follows that the corporation exists to serve the shareholders that are the beneficiaries of share price increases.  The answers to such questions are encoded in the laws governing the decisions of a corporation’s directors and managers and regulating the transactions that allocate the benefits and the … Read more

The Information Mechanism in Corporate Citizenship: Evidence from COVID-19

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When governments fail to respond quickly and effectively to a crisis, can companies help address the issue? In a recent article, we explore an important mechanism through which firms can do so as corporate citizens: information transmission within organizations. Specifically, we study whether U.S. firms’ business networks with China and Italy, including trade, executive, and branch-office networks, become information networks that can be used to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19.

COVID-19 and measures intended to contain its spread resulted in significant societal change and required governments to take unprecedented measures. Meanwhile, for companies, the pandemic made employee safety a … Read more

Why Some Covid-19 Mitigation Strategies Fail

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As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the global economy, regulators are struggling to find cost-effective mitigation strategies. The goal of such strategies should be simple: Reduce the spread of the virus, while causing the least amount of damage to people’s everyday lives, including economic activity. Yet, the diverse measures taken by governments only seem to have limited success in achieving that goal. Given that current estimates of the economic damage are tens of trillions of dollars, figuring out why some Covid-19 mitigation strategies still fail should be a top priority. In a new paper, we attempt to do exactly … Read more

How Stricter Disclosure Rules for Private Meetings Affect Stock Price Informativeness and Volatility

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Private meetings between management and investors occur worldwide and are generally held at corporate headquarters with invited investors and sell-side analysts (a.k.a., site visits).  Ng and Troianovski (WSJ, 2015) report that U.S. investors pay $1.4 billion a year to securities firms that can arrange face time with executives.  These meetings differ from other management-investor interactions such as investor conferences and analyst or investor days in that they are generally not publicized in advance and their content may never become public unless hosting firms are required to publish the meeting details by regulation.  Since 2009, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) in … Read more

The Myth of Dual Class Shares: Lessons from Asia

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Companies with dual class shares have, as the term suggests, two (or more) classes of common stock. One class gives its holders voting power proportionate to their equity shareholdings. The other offers a group of shareholders, normally corporate insiders, weighted voting rights, which allow the insiders to retain control with less than majority ownership of the company.

The recent wave of high-profile technology giants, from Google to Facebook, that have gone public with dual class shares in the U.S. has led to the revival of the use of such share structures. Dual class shares have also gained traction among policymakers … Read more

Gibson Dunn Discusses EU Developments in Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence

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The concept of mandatory corporate human rights due diligence is gaining momentum, both within Europe and on the international stage

In this two-part alert, we examine key global legislative developments and proposals on this important topic. In Part One, we look at very recent steps taken by the institutions of the EU towards implementation of legislation at a pan-European level. In Part Two, we will consider developments at a national level within the EU and also look beyond Europe as we discuss the position in APAC, the US and Canada.

Mandatory Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence: EU Developments

What exactly … Read more

The Duty to Disclose Inside Information: The Subtle Relationships Within the European Market Abuse Regulation

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In our recent paper we discuss the European regime governing the disclosure of inside information. In particular, we try to find an answer to the question of which duties of the disclosure regime have been violated in two situations: where i) inside information is selectively disclosed to third parties and ii) the confidential nature of the inside information is no longer ensured if the disclosure of that information has been delayed. The requirements of the public disclosure of inside information are set out in Article 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).[1] The issuer’s primary duty to disclose inside … Read more

Lessons from India’s Struggles with Corporate Purpose

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The escalating debate over corporate purpose is not confined to developed economies in the West. Rapidly developing economies in nations like India are similarly grappling with how to define and develop a legal framework around corporate purpose. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a re-examination of corporate purpose have been at the centerpiece of discussions about corporate governance reforms in India. In a new book chapter, I discuss the lessons that can be learned from India’s experience with corporate purpose.

For over a decade, India has taken a multi-pronged approach toward redefining corporate purpose. Voluntary guidelines issued by the Indian Ministry … Read more

Paul Hastings Discusses Integrating Human Rights and ESG into International Regulatory Compliance

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As we wrote toward the end of 2020, the risks associated with business and human rights, and ESG more generally, have led a growing number of companies to create human rights/ESG management systems or to integrate human rights/ESG into existing compliance programs.  Relying on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGPs”), we listed six core elements of human rights/ESG compliance programs – which are generally part of effective international regulatory compliance programs.  We promised to provide detailed posts regarding each individual element where we will discuss the key components of that element and how its presence in … Read more

Goodwin Procter Discusses “Constructive Awareness” of Processor Data Breaches Under the GDPR

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On December 15, 2020, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (“DPC”) announced its decision to fine Twitter International Company (“Twitter”) €450,000 for failing to notify the DPC promptly of a data breach affecting EU personal data in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The decision received all the press coverage that is to be expected for any decision involving Big Tech and was the largest GDPR fine issued by the DPC to date. However, the significance of the decision really lies in the message that Controllers cannot escape their breach notification obligations due to failures on the part of … Read more

The Causes and Consequences of Increased Cross-border Shareholder Activism

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In a recent working paper, we look at what drives shareholder activism around the world and focus specifically on the role of corporate governance reforms.

Overview

While shareholder activism has been a force in U.S. capital markets for some time, the last decade has seen an explosion in activism globally, including in countries where activists have previously had little influence.  Our research explores what explains this growth and focuses specifically on the role of changes in regulations and laws that facilitate activism. We develop a country-level framework of regulatory characteristics that serve as necessary precursors for minority shareholders to influence … Read more

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses UK’s Autonomous Sanctions Regime

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At 11pm on December 31, 2020, the Brexit transitional period ended and the UK’s autonomous sanctions regime, consisting of approximately 30 regulations, came into force. It is largely based on the EU’s sanctions legislation that was previously implemented in the UK, but there are important differences.

Companies operating in the UK will need to ensure that their sanctions systems and controls reflect this sanctions legislation. Companies will also need to consider if these changes could affect existing contractual relationships and their approach to sanctions-related representations and warranties in the future.

UK Sanctions Legislation

The UK’s Sanctions and Money Laundering Act … Read more

The Backlash Against Chinese-Company Listings on U.S. Exchanges Has a Long History

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The reach of American law has recently entered familiar territory: listings of international companies on U.S. exchanges. Yet the listings of Chinese companies have in particular prompted a backlash. I want to shed some light on the situation – and outline U.S. government responses to Chinese listings – given my experience bringing Chinese companies to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as its group executive vice president from 1996 to 2003.

The Listings Wave

During that period, listings of foreign companies improved their transparency and governance, thanks to the listing standards of the exchanges and Securities and Exchange Commission, and … Read more

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses New EU ESG Disclosure Obligations for Financial Services Firms

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Over a year ago, on December 29, 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures for the financial services sector (the “Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation”, or “SFDR”) entered into force. Just a few months remain before key provisions begin to apply and asset/fund managers and other financial services firms should not delay in preparing for new disclosure requirements.

The SFDR requires European financial firms to consider how sustainability risks are incorporated into their investment decision-making processes, and the extent to which their financial sector remuneration practices are consistent with sustainability concerns.  In short, manufacturers of financial … Read more

Fried Frank Discusses Trump Administration’s Trade Pressure on China and Russia

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Throughout December 2020, the Trump administration continued its focus on China and Russia and imposed additional export and investment controls. On December 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and create a new Military End User List (MEU List). A license from BIS is required for exports, reexports, or in-country transfers to persons on the MEU List for certain designated items. On December 18, 2020, BIS added 77 entries to the Entity List, most of which are Chinese entities. These actions follow the … Read more

Ropes & Gray Discusses UK’s National Security and Investment Bill

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In November, the UK Government announced a significant and wide-ranging package of reforms that, if adopted, will both recalibrate and expand its existing powers to assess and intervene in mergers and acquisitions on the grounds of national security.

The proposed reforms are set out in the National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”) and addition to the Competition and Markets Authority’s mergers framework under the Enterprise Act 2002.

A new Investment Security Unit (the “Unit”), which will sit within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will be the point of contact for businesses with questions or wishing to … Read more

Independent Central Banks: The Politics of Reversals

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In the United States, President Trump has struggled to decide whether Jay Powell or China’s Chairman Xi is the greater enemy to the U.S. In Turkey, President Erdogan concluded that “interest rates are the mother of all evil,” switched out his central bank governor for refusing to lower interest rates, and reined in the independence of the central bank with the stroke of a pen. In India, Indonesia, Ukraine, and elsewhere, lawmakers are tightening the political grip on monetary authorities. These examples reflect a new reality in monetary policy circles: the political retreat from central bank independence, … Read more

The Rise of International Corporate Law

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What do the emergence of independent directors in South Korea, the legal reforms on related-party transactions in India, the continued rise of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the United States, and the global spread of corporate governance codes have in common? They all trace back to efforts by international organizations – the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), respectively – to shape corporate governance around the world. The different corporate guidelines and norms produced by international organizations have had a noticeable impact on legal changes … Read more