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AFRA partner Alejandro Alemán F. explains how the government is working to support families and businesses struggling as a direct result of the pandemic

In the second instalment of this two-part series, Baker McKenzie lawyers explain what the debt capital markets have to offer struggling companies

Goodwin Procter counsel David Bernstein considers the differences between the expectations of regulators and courts and the reality

Gönenç Gürkaynak and Öznur İnanılır of ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law unpick the key aspects of Turkey’s merger control regime. A pending Draft Competition Law has now been suspended

Baker McKenzie lawyers explain the challenges faced by regulated insurance companies when seeking leveraged debt financing

Prager Dreifuss lawyers discuss how the Global Forum Act targets beneficial ownership transparency

Homburger lawyers René Bösch, Benjamin Leisinger and Pierina Janett-Seiler summarise the new Swiss prospectus regime, with a special focus on exchange offers and consent solicitations

In 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the Circular on Promoting the Reform of the Filing and Registration Regime for Issuance of Foreign Debt by Enterprises, under which, both issuance of bonds and borrowing of mid-and-long term commercial loans overseas by PRC enterprises and/or their offshore subsidiaries and branches (collectively, the debtors) are subject to a prior filing and registration with NDRC (foreign debt filing). Over the past five years, the debtors as applicants encountered a lot of issues with regard to the foreign debt filing due to the ambiguity in definitions, scope and standards thereof. As a result, the NDRC issued detailed application guidance including 25 FAQs and respective answers in February 2020, aiming to make these issues clear.

Libor [London interbank offered rate] is the primary benchmark, along with Euribor, for short-term interest rates around the world. Libor rates are calculated for five currencies and seven borrowing periods, ranging from overnight to one year, and are published each business day. Libor is based on submissions provided by a selection of large international panel banks. These submissions are intended to reflect the interest rate at which banks could lend one another unsecured funds. Many financial institutions, mortgage lenders, and credit card agencies set their own rates based on this. However, in 2017, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that after 2021 it would no longer require the panel banks to submit the rates needed to calculate Libor. Libor will no longer be published after the end of 2021, and market participants are urged to transition to alternative reference rates (ARRs).