Sponsored

Green bonds are now in the mainstream. But the lack of contractual protections risk undermining the market and the broader sustainable finance project, as Baker McKenzie lawyers explain in this long read

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the official organisation of all Philippine lawyers, has recently launched the Philippine International Centre for Conflict Resolution (PICCR). The PICCR is a non-stock, non-profit arbitral institution that will provide commercial arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services and facilities for parties to disputes. The PICCR was established in the IBP's objective of making arbitration more accessible and a mainstream option for dispute resolution in the Philippines.

The Brazilian oil and gas sector does not frequently use project financing and debt capital markets (DCM) to fund its activities unlike in other Brazilian capital-intensive sectors (for example, energy and toll roads) or in other oil markets (for example, onshore US). This results in reduced capital returns and creates difficulties for independent oil companies. Two recent regulations may change this situation.

In October 2018 a commission of experts was formed to review the landscape of the Colombian capital markets and propose measures to boost the market as an instrument for economic growth and general welfare. The commission gathered information from the market through workshops and one-to-one meetings with market participants. After a nine-month process, the commission presented its recommendations on August 9 2019, in an 80-page document that includes more than 60 initiatives that aim to improve market regulation and conditions.

The fintech industry has revolutionised the traditional financial industry as we used to know it, at a faster pace than many could imagine.

Distressed companies are those facing financial crises not resolvable without a considerable recasting of the firm's operations, structures and finance. This can be brought about through a company's failure to make a substantial payment of principal or interest to a creditor. Distress can also be seen in terms of financial ratios, for example in terms of liquidity and longer-term solvency. The basic and most prevalent forms of corporate distress assessment are the cash flow and the balance sheet tests, which apply both to going concern and break up (insolvency) valuation. In terms of break up valuation, under the cash flow test, a company is insolvent when it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Under the balance sheet test, the entity is insolvent if the book value of its assets, as listed on the conventional balance sheet, is less than its reported liabilities. The notions of asset exchangeability/liquidity and time prospect of sale are of great importance, particularly for the balance sheet test, as the latter includes the assessment of assets' value, by definition (UK Insolvency Act, 1986, 123 [2]). In this article, we first present the international/UK insight and, then, the Cyprus position on the matter.

Latham & Watkins lawyers take a deep dive into US trends to unpick the patchwork efforts to regulate tokens, blockchains and cryptocurrencies and the businesses that deal in them

Ever since the Republic of Nicaragua became a member of the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), Nicaragua has experienced a gradual, yet impactful, overhaul in its provisions regarding prevention, detection and criminalisation of activities involving money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Since Panama is a country with a territorial tax regime, it makes sense to have specific criteria to determine, on a case-by-case basis, if a person can be considered a Panamanian tax resident. A territorial tax regime implies that a taxpayer is only subject to the payment of taxes in Panama if its net monetary income has been obtained from commercial activity carried out within the Panamanian territory. Financial, legal and logistics services are among Panama's most robust economic drivers and these are attractive industries for foreign investment. This incoming foreign capital brings with it foreign individuals and corporate entities, which in turn leads to discussion on whether such foreign individuals and corporate entities should be considered Panamanian tax residents.