Local Insights

After ratification of the first sustainable investment facilitation agreement, between the EU and Angola, Carla Gonçalves Borges, Mariana França Gouveia, and Assunção Cristas of Vieira de Almeida analyse ESG considerations in African states’ investment treaties

ESG considerations are becoming an increasingly important factor in investment decisions in Ghana. Lady-Ann Essuman, Ewurama Osam Tawiah, and Verissa Odame-Koranteng of VINT & Aletheia, Attorneys and Consultants explain why, and how, the new reality should be embraced

As the financial services ecosystem in Nigeria continues its rapid development, DealHQ Partners provides a guide to the latest regulatory initiative regarding contactless payments

Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Yuko Toyoda, and Kazuki Mochizuki of City-Yuwa Partners provide a guide to the sustainability-related information to be recorded in annual securities reports and the recent publication of Japan’s inaugural sustainability disclosure standards

Medha Marathe, Latham & Watkins

Bruno Almeida and Daniel de Senna Fernandes of Riquito Advogados provide an update on the development of Macau’s digital currency, which presents several issues but paves the way for new fintech entrants

With regulatory scrutiny intensifying, experts at Vieira de Almeida & Associados examine how legal teams must ensure ESG claims are accurate to mitigate greenwashing risks, litigation, and regulatory penalties

Elena Papachristou and Maria-Roxani Karydi of Papapolitis & Papapolitis highlight the key updates under the EU Listing Act package and an imminent enactment of a new law on the bolstering of the Greek capital market

Evi Tsilou and Vicky Koutsopoulou of Papapolitis & Papapolitis analyse Greece’s new gender balance law, which implements the EU’s Women on Boards Directive and introduces strict reporting requirements and penalties for non-compliance

The Republic of Panama recently enacted Law 76 of February 13 2019 (Law 76 or Tax Procedure Code), through which the new tax procedure code is approved. This new Tax Procedure Code, which will come into effect on January 1 2020, does not replace the Tax Code, but rather establishes the basic principles and the fundamental rules that constitute the legal regime of the Panamanian tax system and is applicable to all national taxes.

Recently, the financial services industry in Colombia has undergone substantial changes driven by technology, which have greatly reduced operational costs, provided higher quality, increased efficiency and expanded access and inclusion for credit and financial services.

Law 1870 of 2017, the Colombian Financial Conglomerates Law entered into force on February 6 2019. The Colombian Superintendence of Finance (SFC) has begun the process of supervising 13 financial conglomerates in the country, five of which are local and eight foreign. The SFC will supervise: Sura – Bancolombia Group, Aval Group, Bolívar financial conglomerate, BBVA Colombia, Fundación Social, Coomeva, Scotiabank Colombia, Itaú Colombia, BNP Paribas Colombia, BTG Pactual Colombia, Credicorp Capital Colombia, GNB Sudameris Colombia and Old Mutual Colombia.

Simone Del Nevo and Rahul Sud, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners

Ezekiel Tuma, John Cunha, and Luis Cunha, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners

Ragy Soliman, Ahmed Abdelgawad, and Ibrahim ElGengehy, Adsero – Ragy Soliman & Partners

Robert Katz and Charles Ruck, Latham & Watkins

Robert M Katz and Charles Ruck, Latham & Watkins

More US buyers – and more buyer-friendly deal terms – are entering the seller-friendly UK market, although the picture is increasingly nuanced, say Joshua M. Dubofsky, Sam Newhouse, Jennifer N. Cadet, and Catherine Campbell