Publication
Vietnam: Competition Law Fact Sheet
Overview of the main provisions of the Competition Law, and discussion of the enforcement regime and recent enforcement trends.
Global | Publication | October 28, 2016
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On October 26, 2016 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated version of its questions and answers regarding the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).
The Q&A includes new questions regarding:
(ESMA, Questions and Answers on the Market Abuse Regulation (ESMA/2016/1520), 26.10.16)
On October 21, 2016 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a set of guidelines on the delay in the disclosure of inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The Guidelines provide a non-exhaustive and indicative list of legitimate interests of issuers that are likely to be prejudiced by immediate disclosure of inside information and situations in which delay of disclosure is likely to mislead the public, in accordance with Article 17(11) of MAR. There has been no material change from the draft Guidelines published as an annex to ESMA’s Final Report on MAR in July 2016.
The Guidelines discuss the following:
The Guidelines apply from December 20, 2016.
(ESMA, MAR Guidelines: Delay in the disclosure of inside information, 21.10.16)
On October 21, 2016 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a set of guidelines on persons receiving market soundings under Article 11(11) of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). There has been no material change from the draft Guidelines published as an annex to ESMA’s Final Report on MAR in July 2016.
Article 11(11) of MAR requires ESMA to issue guidelines addressed to persons receiving market soundings (MSRs) regarding the factors that MSRs are to take into account when information is disclosed to them as part of a market sounding in order for them to assess whether the information amounts to inside information, the steps that MSRs are to take if inside information has been disclosed to them in order to comply with Articles 8 and 10 of MAR and the records that MSRs are to maintain in order to demonstrate that they have complied with Articles 8 and 10 of MAR.
The Guidelines provide guidance on the following:
The Guidelines apply from December 20, 2016.
(ESMA, MAR Guidelines: Persons receiving market soundings, 21.10.16)
On October 24, 2016 the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a presentation describing the accounting and corporate reporting issues most often raised by Corporate Reporting Review activity conducted in the year ended March 2016. This supplements the wider discussion of the quality of corporate reporting in the UK in the FRC’s Annual Review of Corporate Reporting 2015-2016 published on October 21, 2016.
The most frequent areas of questioning by the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) concerned the following:
On October 25, 2016 HM Treasury published a consultation document seeking views on proposed changes to Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) concerning distributions so as to include a new section 843A enabling the distributable profits of a long-term insurance business which is a Solvency 2 firm to be calculated. The changes are needed as a result of the implementation of the Solvency 2 Directive on January 1, 2016. The Directive and regulations made under it require insurers to segregate life and non-life business. Previously firms could maintain life funds within a “long-term fund” but a change in the Prudential Regulation Authority rulebook following the introduction of Solvency 2, means that the “long-term fund” concept, as referred to in section 843 CA 2006, is no longer used for Solvency 2 firms.
HM Treasury is consulting on an alternative methodology that will ensure firms only make distributions out of realised profits and it draws on the Solvency 2 framework. The first step in the new approach will be to identify and value an insurance firm’s assets and liabilities, with the liabilities then being deducted from the assets. The second step will be to deduct the value of any assets which cannot reasonably be considered distributable from the excess of assets over liabilities and the result will be the amount of profit which the firm may distribute to shareholders. It notes that the new approach to insurers and reinsurers may be stricter than section 831 CA 2006 (this section requires a public company to meet a net assets test prior to a distribution of profits), so HM Treasury believes that a distribution which satisfies the new approach should also satisfy section 831.
HM Treasury notes that extensive discussion with the insurance industry has already taken place and since the industry wants the issues resolved swiftly, comments are requested by November 15, 2016.
(HM Treasury, Distributable profits of long-term (life) insurers: a consultation, 25.10.16)
On October 26, 2016 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper on its future mission, which is designed to provide a guiding set of principles around the strategic choices the FCA makes. It will inform the FCA’s strategy and day-to-day work over the coming years.
Key themes the FCA is consulting on include:
The FCA is requesting comments on the consultation by January 26, 2017.
Publication
Overview of the main provisions of the Competition Law, and discussion of the enforcement regime and recent enforcement trends.
Publication
Our Asia Competition Law facts sheets provide insights into the main competition law regimes across Asia, reflecting the experience and reach of our Asia competition team in an ever changing and increasingly complex competition law environment.
Publication
The UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and the much-discussed new failure to prevent fraud offence is likely to come into force (after government guidance is issued) by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
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