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IFLR's EMEA reporter assesses the likelihood if Britain striking a deal with the EU under new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson

Homburger partner Jürg Frick explains how Swiss regulators are working to strengthen the country’s competitiveness as a fund centre

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the official organisation of all Philippine lawyers, has recently launched the Philippine International Centre for Conflict Resolution (PICCR). The PICCR is a non-stock, non-profit arbitral institution that will provide commercial arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services and facilities for parties to disputes. The PICCR was established in the IBP's objective of making arbitration more accessible and a mainstream option for dispute resolution in the Philippines.

Silicon Valley’s superpowers are eyeing up the financial markets. IFLR asks readers how regulators should approach them

Thailand is advancing its economic development agenda with new regulations aimed at expanding the range of fundraising options available to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In May 2019, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced an updated framework for debt crowdfunding based on public consultations that took place at the beginning of the year.

The Brazilian oil and gas sector does not frequently use project financing and debt capital markets (DCM) to fund its activities unlike in other Brazilian capital-intensive sectors (for example, energy and toll roads) or in other oil markets (for example, onshore US). This results in reduced capital returns and creates difficulties for independent oil companies. Two recent regulations may change this situation.

The Competition Law 23/2018/QH14 (Competition Law 2018) in Vietnam took effect on July 1 2019 and replaced the old Competition Law 27/2004/QH11 (Competition Law 2004). The new law contains substantial changes to the old law, and such changes may have an impact on foreign investors' business practices in Vietnam. In this article, we explain one of those changes using the following hypothetical case:

Switzerland is well known as an innovation-friendly jurisdiction, in particular in the financial sector. This is partly due to the technology-neutral and principle-based approach of its regulation, which has allowed the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and other Swiss authorities and self-regulatory organisations to flexibly address the challenges of emerging technology, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), being used in financial services. Furthermore, Swiss regulation typically aims to create a level playing field between traditional players and innovators, seeking to ensure that the goals of financial regulation are met regardless of the technology used in a business model.

A long-standing burden on the courts in the Slovak Republic is the large number of old enforcement proceedings. Old enforcement proceedings are referred proceedings that commenced before April 1 2017, when a large amendment of the Code of Enforcement Procedure entered into force. While the new rules from this date give bailiffs strict limits for the new enforcement proceedings – two-and-a-half years for debtors who are legal entities and five years for debtors who are natural persons – no such limits existed for the old enforcement proceedings. This fact, plus the fact that old enforcement procedures could not be terminated for insolvency of a debtor without the creditor's consent, explains why there are still 2.6 million old enforcement procedures in the courts. These old enforcement procedures formally continue even though the debtor is, in most cases, insolvent and no assets are being recovered from them. If these cases continue to be completed at their present rate without state intervention, the old enforcement procedures would remain in the legal system for another 12+ years. To end this unsustainable situation, the government proposed an act on the termination of the certain enforcement procedures (Act) aimed specifically at the old enforcement proceedings, which will enter force on January 1 2020.

Distressed companies are those facing financial crises not resolvable without a considerable recasting of the firm's operations, structures and finance. This can be brought about through a company's failure to make a substantial payment of principal or interest to a creditor. Distress can also be seen in terms of financial ratios, for example in terms of liquidity and longer-term solvency. The basic and most prevalent forms of corporate distress assessment are the cash flow and the balance sheet tests, which apply both to going concern and break up (insolvency) valuation. In terms of break up valuation, under the cash flow test, a company is insolvent when it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Under the balance sheet test, the entity is insolvent if the book value of its assets, as listed on the conventional balance sheet, is less than its reported liabilities. The notions of asset exchangeability/liquidity and time prospect of sale are of great importance, particularly for the balance sheet test, as the latter includes the assessment of assets' value, by definition (UK Insolvency Act, 1986, 123 [2]). In this article, we first present the international/UK insight and, then, the Cyprus position on the matter.