Hong Kong: the new uncertificated securities market regime

The Securities and Futures and Companies Legislation (Uncertificated Securities Market Amendment) Ordinance 2015 was published in the Gazette at the end of last month. The Ordinance contains the framework for Hong Kong's new uncertificated securities market regime. Further information, including a copy of the Ordinance, is available here.

Oman: CMA seeks comments on draft corporate governance code

The Capital Markets Authority has published for comment a draft of its corporate governance code for public companies: see here (pdf). A copy of the code, in English, is expected in the next couple of weeks.

Update (8 April 2015) - a copy of the draft code, in English, is available here (pdf).

UK: PRA supervisory statement on internal governance

The Prudential Regulation Authority yesterday published a supervisory statement on internal governance: see here (pdf). The statement sets out the PRA's expectations of banks, building societies and PRA-designated investment firms, in respect of their compliance with internal governance rules in the PRA Rulebook. It includes, for example, the PRA's view on when it is appropriate for a firm to have an audit committee.

South Africa: 'enforcement action' during business rescue proceedings

The Supreme Court of Appeal gave judgment towards the end of last month in Cloete Murray NO v FirstRand Bank Ltd (20104/2014) [2015] ZASCA 39: see here (pdf). The operation of section 133 of the Companies Act 2008 was at issue: it imposes restrictions on the bringing or continuing of legal proceedings against the company including enforcement action. The court held that 'enforcement action' did not include the cancellation of an agreement concluded prior to the start of the business rescue proceedings. A summary of the decision is available here (pdf).

UK: England and Wales: what is a collective investment scheme?

The Court of Appeal gave judgment last week in Financial Conduct Authority v Capital Alternatives Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 284. At issue was whether several schemes were collective investment schemes within section 235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. A short summary of the decision, prepared by the ICLR, is available here and this contains the following headnote: "The critical question in deciding whether property was 'managed as a whole' within section 235(3)(b) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 was whether a characteristic feature of the arrangements under the scheme was that the property to which those arrangements related was managed as a whole. Whether that condition was satisfied required an overall assessment and evaluation of the relevant facts".