Legal Updates for May - 2024
Unfair Practices in Business in Relation to Advertisements and Sale Promotions
On 12 April 2024, the Ministry of Commerce issued Prakas No.95 on Unfair Practices in Business in Relation to Advertisements and Sale Promotions. The Prakas aims to define some unfair practices that are not stipulated in the Law on Consumer Protection dated 2 November 2019 and to protect the rights and interests of consumers.
The Prakas applies to any person who conducts the business of supplying and advertising goods and services through promises, advertisements, or false or misleading representation in any type, form, and means including digital means in Cambodia. This Update highlights the key provisions of the Prakas.
10 May 2024 | CambodiaSGX RegCo Consults on Proposed Changes to Listing Rules to Facilitate Shareholder-Requisitioned Meetings
On 23 April 2024, the Singapore Exchange Regulation ("SGX RegCo") issued a Consultation Paper on "Facilitating Shareholder-Requisitioned Meetings" to seek feedback on its proposed changes to the SGX-ST Listing Rules (Mainboard) and SGX-ST Listing Rules (Catalist) (collectively, "Listing Rules").These changes relate to where shareholders ("Requisitionists") of issuers listed on the SGX-ST ("issuers") have requisitioned a general meeting ("Shareholder-Requisitioned Meetings"). Within 21 days of deposit of the requisition notice, issuers are to:
- commence facilitative efforts as soon as practicable; or
- (where they dispute the validity of the requisition notice) apply for a court ruling.
This Update provides a brief summary of the proposed changes to the Listing Rules.
08 May 2024 | Singapore
Defective Solar Panels: Singapore High Court Provides Guidance on How Unpleaded Claims and Abandoned Claims May Affect Pleadings
In DGE v DGF [2024] SGHC 107, the claimant DGE advanced eight grounds for setting aside an arbitral award in the defendant DGF's favour, that the photovoltaic modules (solar panels) supplied by DGE were inherently defective. The High Court ("Court") dismissed each of these grounds in declining to set aside the award.This article deals with interesting questions that the Court considered – (i) whether the tribunal's raising of an unpleaded issue on the first day of the hearing made it a live issue, and (ii) whether a party's change in its legal position underlying an abandoned claim was a matter requiring pleading or amendments to pleadings.
The defendant was successfully represented by Partner Lai Yew Fei, Partner Tao Tao, and Associate Brendan Tan Zi Jian of Rajah & Tann Singapore.
Visit Arbitration Asia for insights from our thought leaders across Asia concerning arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, ranging from legal and case law developments to market updates and many more. 06 May 2024 | Singapore
Topline Competition: Notifying a Merger in Singapore – When and What are the Triggers?
Topline Competition: Merger notifications in Singapore are necessary where thresholds are close to being or are crossed. A failure to notify can result in investigations and if a substantial lessening of competition (“SLC”) is found, penalties and remedies can be imposed. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) regularly does review transactions occurring to ascertain if notification in Singapore ought to be made as well. CCCS has the power to issue remedies, including interim measures where potential mergers are still being negotiated, and mandate notification as part of the remedies, failing which the merger will be prohibited from being implemented. This brief note is a topline reminder to businesses, and provides basic information on thresholds and steps to take. 03 May 2024 | SingaporeTax & Customs Alert - May 2024
In this Update, we highlight the following tax and customs developments in Vietnam:
- Foreign Investment Protection Measures
- Application of VAT Rate to Goods
- Amendments to VAT Regulations - Update
Potential Challenges under the New KPPU Regulation to Supervise Partnerships
Apart from enforcing competition law, the Indonesia Competition Authority (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha or “KPPU”) also supervises partnership agreements between large/medium businesses and their micro, small, or medium enterprise (“MSME”) partners. If a large/medium business is found to have ownership or control over its MSME partners, the KPPU can initiate a case against the business and impose administrative sanctions.
For several years, the KPPU has diligently focused on MSME partnerships. The recent issuance of a new regulation in this field underscores their unwavering commitment to this area. This regulation, KPPU Regulation No. 2 of 2024 on the Procedure and Case Handling of Partnership Cases (“New Regulation”) was issued in April 2024, and replaces KPPU Regulation No. 4 of 2019 on the same topic.
The highlights of the New Regulation are as follows:
(a) Enhanced clarity on the duration of the written warning stage, which gives more room for the reported party to implement the KPPU’s order.
(b) Partnership cases now adopt stricter requirements for evidence, like competition cases.
(c) Reported party has a more limited room to rebut the allegations.
(d) There is a lack of clarity of whether KPPU’s decisions in partnership cases are final.
02 May 2024 | IndonesiaEnergy Exchange Malaysia and Cross-Border Electricity Sales of Renewable Energy
The Guide for Cross-Border Electricity Sales ("CBES Guide") was first issued by the Energy Commission ("EC") on 31 December 2020 to facilitate the cross-border electricity sales between Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore or Thailand. The CBES Guide was revised on 25 October 2021, imposing prohibition of export of renewable energy ("RE") to Singapore.
In the National Energy Transition Roadmap issued in July and August 2023, the Government of Malaysia identified the establishment of RE exchange hub to enable cross-border RE trading as one of the key initiatives under the energy transition lever of RE. However, there had been little development on the RE exchange framework since then.
The much-anticipated development was finally announced by EC via the third edition of the CBES Guide on 15 April 2024, which now contains a separate chapter addressing the mechanism of the cross-border renewable energy sales from Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore or Thailand (CBES RE Scheme).
02 May 2024 | Malaysia