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

On November 30 2018, partial amendments to the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Notary Act (Amended Ordinance) came into force. The Amended Ordinance aims to identify the beneficial owners of companies and improve transparency in order to prevent money laundering or terrorism financing activities. According to the Amended Ordinance, when making an application to a notary for the authentication of articles of association to incorporate new joint-stock companies (kabushiki-kaisha), general incorporated associations (ippan-shadan-houjin) or general incorporated foundations (ippan-zaidan-houjin), applicants must declare to the notary: (i) the beneficial owner of the company; and, (ii) that the beneficial owner is neither a member of criminal organisations nor an international terrorist, and where there is any reasonable doubt the notary will request the applicant to provide explanations.

Beijing-based Norton Rose Fulbright partner Barbara Li explains what China’s new foreign direct investment rules mean for foreign companies entering one of the world’s biggest marketplaces

Public apostilled documents executed outside the Philippines no longer need to be authenticated by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in order for those documents to be considered authentic in the Philippines. This is because on May 14 2019, the Philippines became a party to the 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, or the Apostille Convention.

Marcel Frey and Urs Feller of Prager Dreifuss outline the planned Zurich International Commercial Court, set to launch in 2027, and assess its potential advantages over arbitration for resolving cross-border commercial disputes

Markus Fellner, Florian Henöckl, and Elisabeth Fischer-Schwarz of Fellner Wratzfeld & Partners examine the latest Austrian insolvency trends, the economic and legal factors driving them, and the potential implications for businesses and creditors

Despite political and geopolitical uncertainties, the key components of a business-friendly environment are still in place in France and present an opportunity for further Chinese investment, say Raphaël Chantelot, Ran Hu, and Hubert Bazin of LPA Law

Decreased availability and increased costs of funding have altered the behaviour of borrowers and lenders in the Peruvian leveraged finance market. Thomas Thorndike of Garrigues highlights the main themes and considers the outlook

Rita de la Guardia and Patricia Cordero, Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee

Jaime Trujillo Caicedo, Alexandra Montealegre and María Camila Vargas, Baker McKenzie

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