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Ahead of the curve A Malaysian company has issued the first sukuk backed by future payments made on real estate projects

The recent coming into effect of Mifid II is redefining how the sell and buy-sides deal with investment data

Brazilian law provides that foreigners can only acquire or lease rural properties if previously authorised by the National Institute of Rural Settlement and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). The same restrictions apply to foreign controlled Brazilian companies. The limitations were imposed on the premise that the acquisition or leasing of large rural areas by foreigners (directly or via local subsidiaries), mainly for agribusiness or mining activities, must be restricted to protect Brazilian sovereignty as regards the country's land and natural resources.

A new regulation in Colombia has the potential to dramatically improve the Colombian financing landscape. The Colombian Central Bank recently began allowing foreign entities to lend Colombian pesos to local entities. Before that, foreign loans could only be extended in foreign currency with the corresponding foreign exchange risk (subject to the ability of arraigning for peso-linked facilities).

US courts are progressively shifting their analysis to the process by which a transaction is approved, leaving behind fear of these investors' influence

The legal recognition of close-out netting provisions in financial contracts is increasingly significant to parties in the UAE as the region advances implementation of Basel III principles

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has released its latest analysis of data on non-performing loans in the Cyprus banking sector, covering the period to August 31 2017. The analysis shows aggregate non-performing facilities (NPFs) and related indicators for the domestic operations of credit institutions operating in Cyprus. During the month of August NPFs fell by €497 million ($598 million), a reduction of 2.2%, to €21.9 billion, against a backdrop of a smaller (1.1%) reduction in total facilities, from €49.5 billion to €48.9 billion, over the same period. As a result, the percentage of facilities classified as non-performing fell to 44.7% at the end of August 2017. Total impairment provisions made against NPFs totalled €10 billion as at August 31 2017, accounting for 45.9% of aggregate NPFs.

There has been a marked increase in investments by Japanese investors in foreign real estate funds, but the marketing of such funds in Japan is subject to many regulations, including the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA). The following is a brief summary of the two principal regulations applicable to operators of typical foreign real estate funds, such as limited partnerships, investment trusts or real estate investment trusts (Reits) that are established under foreign laws, and which are marketed to institutional or professional investors in Japan.

On December 19 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) which took effect on January 1 2018 and introduced Phase 1A of a massive reform of the tax system of the Philippines. A notable change is the overhaul of the tax rates on individual compensation income (see table)

Thailand has enjoyed a relatively stable petroleum law regime since 1971 when the Petroleum Act BE 2514, 1971 (PA) and the Petroleum Income Tax Act BE 2514, 1971 (PITA) were enacted. Thailand adopted a modern form of petroleum concession, which has been updated from time to time. There have been 20 bid rounds, the last in 2007. A number of commercial oil and gas discoveries have been made, and as of 2017, there were 38 concessions in force. However, Thailand has limited geological prospects for oil and gas, and it imports more than 40% of its natural gas requirements.