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Click here to read the articleBack to Top Print
Click here to read the article Back to Top Print
Rajah & Tann's Malaysia associate office* participated as a sponsor at the 12th annual In-House Congress Kuala Lumpur held on 27 June 2013.
Yon See Ting from Christopher & Lee Ong* moderated the panel discussion, "The Evolution of In-House Function in Malaysia: Perspectives on Compliance, Risk and Working Practice from both External and In House Counsel from SEA and Beyond."
See Ting also conducted a workshop on the Malaysian Data Protection Act, while Lionel Tan from the Firm's Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice provided some insights on the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act and explained the draft guidelines recently issued by the Data Protection Commission. Lionel also provided some comparisons with the Malaysian Act, in particular, the "Do-Not-Call" Registry which will come in force in January 2014.
The event, which was attended by over 180 in-house counsel and senior business executives, was organised by Pacific Business Press.
*With effect from 1 July 2013, Kamilah & Chong, previously Rajah & Tann's Malaysia associate office, merged with 2 other Malaysian law firms, Christopher Lee & Co and Lee Ong & Kandiah to form Christopher & Lee Ong so that it is now able to offer its clients a full range of legal services in Malaysia. Back to Top Print
Lionel Tan and Rajesh Sreenivasan from the Technology Media and Telecommunications Practice were the speakers at a Masterclass on "Challenges of e-Discovery and Electronic Evidence" held on 25 June 2013.
Lionel provided an overview of e-Discovery practices in the conduct of litigation cases. He set out the guidance provided in the Practice Directions on e-Discovery, which provides the basic framework for the conduct of discovery electronically and for the inspection of electronically stored documents. He then provided detailed updates on recent case authorities on e-Discovery, giving the principles on which the courts in Singapore will rely upon in adjudicating issues relating to e-Discovery. Lionel also provided strategies for case assessment and cost-effective implementation of e-Discovery.
Rajesh addressed the recent amendments to the Evidence Act, specifically those which relate to the treatment of electronic evidence. He canvassed the presumptions under the Evidence Act which relate to electronic evidence and how the existing rules on relevance and admissibility (i.e. rules on hearsay, best evidence rules and rules on authentication) apply. Given the increased use of electronic documents in electronic transactions, Rajesh touched on the role of computer forensics in business transactions, and gave useful pointers on how to manage electronic evidence. Rajesh also provided an overview of the Electronic Transactions Act and its application to digital signatures.
The Masterclass was co-presented by Asian Legal Business and Rajah & Tann.Back to Top Print
John Cordova from the Corporate Commercial Practice was the speaker at the SBF - BFI @ SMU Mission to Myanmar held on 9-12 June 2013. In his session on "Legal Considerations of Doing Business in Myanmar", John identified and discussed the general legal considerations in establishing business presence in Myanmar. These include the choice of business entity, foreign investment limit, share capital requirements, land ownership restrictions, capital flow restrictions and labour and employment legislation. There are also unique legal considerations when investing in Myanmar, such as the regulatory environment in the country where bureaucracy is not uncommon. He then focused on the new Foreign Investment Law ("FIL") which permits foreign ownership and participation in most sectors (subject to restrictions). John also proposed, for the consideration of the investors, that they establish a holding company in Singapore for Myanmar investments, given the efficient and transparent system of regulating businesses in Singapore.
The business mission was co-organised by the Singapore Business Federation ("SBF") and the Business Families Institute ("BFI") of the Singapore Management University ("SMU"). Back to Top Print
Francis Xavier SC, the Head of the Firm's Disputes Practices, was one of the key speakers in a panel discussion titled "Effective Dispute Management in Downstream Disputes" at the Oil & Gas Dispute Resolution Conference held in Jakarta on 6 June 2013. The speakers at the Conference discussed new challenges and risks involved in the oil and gas industry and strategic dispute resolution mechanisms that may be adopted to settle disputes.
In his talk on "Strategic Considerations at the Hearing and Enforcement Stages", Francis discussed the impact of the common / civil law divide at the hearing stage of arbitration proceedings. It was highlighted that the common and civil law systems do differ greatly in their approach on the roles of the tribunal and counsel, the function of pleadings, discovery, legal professional privilege and choice of witnesses. The divergent approaches must be taken into account in achieving a desirable outcome in arbitration. Francis also touched on enforcement strategies, with a focus on state court intervention and the differential enforcement climate across Asia.
The Conference was organised by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ("SIAC").Back to Top Print
Rajah & Tann (Thailand) Limited participated as a sponsor at the 11th annual In-House Congress Bangkok held on 6 June 2013.
Teoh Sui Lin, the Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann (Thailand) Limited, was one of the panellists in the panel discussion, "The Evolution of the Legal Function in Thailand: Perspectives on Compliance, Risk, and Working Practice from Counsel from South East Asia and Beyond". Krida Phoonwathu and Dussadee Rattanopas from the Thailand office conducted a workshop on Corporate Governance.
The event, which was attended by over 120 in-house counsel and senior business executives, was organised by Pacific Business Press.
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Rajesh Sreenivasan, the Head of the Firm's Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice, delivered several talks in the month of May.
On 31 May 2013, he gave a talk entitled "Understanding & Demystifying the Role of the Data Protection Officer", where he gave an overview of the key aspects of the Personal Data Protection Act ("PDPA") which came into operation in January this year. He then discussed the scope of work of data protection officers ("DPOs") in relation to the PDPA, such as putting in place security measures to be undertaken within an organisation to comply with the law.
On 23 and 10 May 2013, Rajesh also delivered talks on "Data Protection in Singapore – the Personal Data Protection Act 2012" and "Data Protection & Compliance: Understanding the New Data Protection Regime and Its Impact on Business Decisions, Policies and Processes", respectively. Aside from tackling specific issues relating to data protection, Rajesh discussed the impact of the PDPA on an organisation's business decisions, policies and processes. He gave practical tips on how to create a fool-proof data protection policies that are tailored to suit the specific needs of relevant organisations.
The events were organised by CrimsonLogic. Back to Top Print
Gregory Vijayendran from the Commercial Litigation Practice was one of the speakers at the "2013 ACCA Singapore Annual Conference – Diversity: A Competitive Edge in Uncertain Times" held on 22 May 2013. In his session on "Legal Updates & Proposed Amendments to the Companies and Accountants Acts", Gregory discussed the significant proposed amendments to the Companies Act that were announced by the Ministry of Finance in October 2012. Some of these changes relate to: (i) allowing loans to a director's connected company with prior shareholders' consent; (ii) providing for multiple proxies for shareholders providing custodial or nominee services; (iii) reducing the scope of the financial assistance prohibition; and (iv) the introduction of the small companies audit exemption regime.
With respect to the Accountants Act, Gregory highlighted that the general goal of the proposed amendments to the Act is to increase audit quality in Singapore and bring it to par with international standards. Some of the key amendments discussed include: (i) Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's ("ACRA") scope of regulation of audits and reviews being clarified to now cover all audits of financial statements / information in Singapore, whether statutory or voluntary; (ii) the introduction of a Special Investigation process for ACRA to deal with cases of potential non-compliance that have an adverse impact on public interest; and (iii) enhanced requirements for registration as a public accountant and clarifications on public practice requirements.
The impact of the proposed amendments to the Companies Act was subsequently discussed at a panel where Gregory was one of the panelists.
Gregory was assisted by Practice Trainee Ronald Wong on the said talk. The Conference was organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ("ACCA") Singapore.Back to Top Print
Chia Kim Huat, the Head of the Firm's Corporate and Transactional Practice and Elaine Yeo from the Knowledge and Risk Management Group facilitated a session titled "Roundtable Discussion on the Draft Companies (Amendment) Bill 2013 ("Draft Bill")" held on 22 May 2013. This was aimed at generating discussion and collating feedback from corporate clients during the public consultation exercise conducted by the Ministry of Finance ("MOF") and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ("ACRA") from 2 May to 14 June 2013.
Kim Huat and Elaine highlighted some of the key amendments proposed in the Draft Bill, focusing on changes that relate to company directors / management, shareholders and company affairs. For example, under the Draft Bill, loans to a director's connected company will be permitted with prior shareholders' approval. Currently, a company cannot make loans to its directors nor to companies in which the director has an interest in 20% of shares or more. Under the Draft Bill, there is also a proposal to abolish the "one share, one vote" restriction currently being observed in public companies. Moreover, the Draft Bill allows shareholders providing custodial or nominee services to nominate multiple proxies to enable indirect investors to participate in shareholders meeting. The existing rule is to provide a maximum of 2 proxies to each member. With respect to company affairs, the Draft Bill will introduce new "small company" and "small group" criteria for exemption of statutory audit.
The input collated during the Roundtable Discussion was incorporated into Rajah & Tann's public consultation feedback on the Draft Bill submitted to the MOF.Back to Top Print
Lionel Tan from the Technology Media & Telecommunications Practice was the speaker at a seminar titled "Amendments to the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act: Implications for Companies and Business" held on 21 May 2013.
In view of the prevalence of cyber threats, the Singapore Parliament amended the Computer Misuse Act, which is now renamed as the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act ("Act"). In his talk, Lionel explained the key amendments to the Act. These include empowering the Minister for Home Affairs to carry out effective and timely measures to strengthen cyber-security. The powers enable the Government to take pre-emptive action against potential cyber-threats by giving directions or seeking information from organisations that carry out critical functions. The information obtained under the Minister's direction, which may be sensitive, will be protected by legal safeguards. Immunity from civil and criminal liability will also be granted to individuals or corporations who act in good faith pursuant to the directions of the Minister.
Lionel stressed that companies and business must put in place a robust process of procedural safeguards to ensure compliance with the amendments to the Act. They must be familiar and be prepared to comply with any directions of the Minister in order to take all measures necessary to prevent, detect or counter cyber-attacks.
The seminar was organised by ISACA (previously the Information Systems Audit and Control Association) Singapore Chapter. ISACA is a worldwide association of IS governance professionals.Back to Top Print
Chester Toh, the Co-Head of the Firm's Myanmar Practice, gave a talk on "Update on Myanmar's Foreign Investment Regime" as part of a Firm-sponsored client seminar titled "Unravelling the Mysteries of Myanmar" held on 17 May 2013.
Chester provided an overview of Myanmar’s foreign investment regime, starting off with the enactment of the Foreign Investment Law ("FIL") in November last year to the issuance of a Notification and the FIL Rules in January. The FIL permits full foreign ownership of ventures (subject to restrictions in some areas) and offers tax breaks and longer land leases.The Notification and FIL Rules expand the coverage of the FIL and brought clarity to the provisions of the FIL. For example, the Notification sets out the broad categories of investment in Myanmar, i.e. restricted, prohibited and conditional activities. It provides clarification on what these prohibited and restricted activities are, as well as the conditions that must be complied with to be able to establish business presence in the country. Although the law and the rules are still evolving, companies looking to invest in Myanmar will welcome these changes as they provide foreign investors greater incentive to explore business in the country.
Chester's session was followed by a panel discussion on "Myanmar as an Investment Destination: Challenges and Opportunities" with Myanmar Practice Co-Head Jainil Bhandari as the moderator. Panel members included U Nyein Kyaw, the Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann NK Legal Myanmar Co. Ltd, and Ng Kim Beng and Koh Tien Gui from the Firm's International Arbitration and Corporate Finance & Capital Markets Practices, respectively.
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Rajah & Tann organised on 16 May 2013 a regional competition seminar titled "Competition & Antitrust: A Practical View of ASEAN's Approach to Cartels and Mergers". The seminar comprised two panel sessions. Insights on how to mitigate risks arising from cartel activities across ASEAN were provided in the first session, "Avoiding Cartels and Staying Business Savvy", while tips on how best to manage M&A deals covering one or more jurisdictions were given in the second session, "Clearing Mergers and Acquisitions Quickly and Seamlessly".
Guest speakers from the Competition Commission of Singapore, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd and Singapore Petroleum Company Limited, and lawyers from the Rajah & Tann regional network participated in these two sessions. The lawyers were Yon See Ting from Christopher & Lee Ong*, Nattarat Boonyatap from Rajah & Tann (Thailand) Limited, Brian Ng from R&T Vietnam LLC, Yogi Sudrajat Marsono from Rajah & Tann's Indonesia associate office Assegaf Hamzah & Partners and Tatsuya Soeda from the Firm's Corporate Commercial Practice.
Benjamin Cheong and Dominique Lombardi from the Firm's Competition & Antitrust, and Trade Practice were the individual moderators in each of the panel sessions.
*With effect from 1 July 2013, Kamilah & Chong, previously Rajah & Tann's Malaysia associate office, merged with 2 other Malaysian law firms, Christopher Lee & Co and Lee Ong & Kandiah to form Christopher & Lee Ong so that it is now able to offer its clients a full range of legal services in Malaysia.
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Francis Xavier SC, the Head of the Firm's Disputes Practices, was one of the speakers at a roundtable discussion titled "The Choice of Law in International Arbitration: Strategy and Transactions" held in Shanghai on 8 May 2013. The event was attended by general counsel from top multi-national companies based in the People's Republic of China. During the round-table discussion, Francis discussed the impact of choice of law considerations generally and shared the Firm's experience with arbitrating in different parts of Asia.
The other speakers comprised practitioners from Shanghai and the UK. The event was organised by the the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ("SIAC"). Back to Top Print
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