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Law Decree 145 of December 23 2013, converted into law with amendments by Law 9 of February 21 2014, (Decree 145) has introduced wide-ranging amendments to Law 130 of April 30 1999 (the Securitisation Law). The five most relevant amendments are discussed below.

The final version of France’s new insolvency law is a watered down version of the original proposal, but it still greatly enhances creditor rights

Elias Neocleous The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has announced a number of proposed amendments to the Laws Regulating Companies providing Administrative Services and Related Matters of 2012 and 2013 (the ASP Law), following discussions between the Ministry of Finance, the troika of providers of international financial support to Cyprus, and the competent authorities (namely, the Cyprus Bar Association, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus and CySEC). The proposed amendments aim to address practical issues that have emerged, and to meet the requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding with the troika. There are several main proposed amendments, the first being that occupational retirement benefit funds (under the supervision of the Registrar of Occupational Retirement Benefit Funds in accordance with the Establishment, Activities and Supervision of Occupational Retirement Benefit Funds Law of 2012) are explicitly excluded from the scope of the ASP Law.

Craig Whitley,

Cities around the world are looking to replicate Hong Kong’s success as an offshore RMB hub. Here are the top contenders

Ellen Snare,

Who took home what from IFLR’s annual Asia awards

An employee share incentive plan (SIP) enables employees to acquire and hold shares in their employing company. They are generally implemented by employer companies in order to incentivise and retain employees (participants), and for such participants to receive indirect benefits from the appreciation in the growth of the company. Therefore, whilst such schemes are beneficial to the employee, they indirectly benefit the employer company. Employees with a vested interest in the success and performance of a company are more motivated to work, as their investment is based upon the performance of the company. SIPs can potentially lead to tax benefits for the employer company and the employee.

Takeho Ujino The Act on Special Provisions of Civil Court Procedures for Collective Recovery of Property Damage of Consumers (Act 96 of 2013 – the Act) was promulgated on December 11 2013, and is scheduled to come into force within three years – the specific date to be designated by a cabinet order. The Act introduces a new class action system that sets out procedures which enable a group of consumers to recover damages collectively in a simple and prompt manner (the system). The system consists of two stages. In the first stage, the court will render a declaratory judgment on the common liabilities of the accused business operator, which must arise from a common legal and factual cause and be shared by multiple aggrieved consumers (common liabilities). Only a specified qualified consumer organisation certified by the Prime Minister as fulfilling the requirements of the system may file a first stage procedure. If the organisation succeeds at the first stage, the amount to be paid to each aggrieved consumer will be determined at the second stage, during which the group of aggrieved consumers delegates the resolution of their claims to the organisation, which then brings the relevant claims to the court. The court will then issue a decision regarding the amount of compensation that can be recovered from the accused business operator by each of the aggrieved consumers.

European bank capital will come of age this year. Regulatory and market developments have combined to create long-awaited optimism around the asset class