By Jerome Tse, Fiona Beattie, Stephen Pevsner and Bill Ye. King & Wood Mallesons

It has never been more important for multi-national enterprises (MNEs) to consider their global transfer pricing positions.

Governments around the world have stepped up their“tough on multi-national tax” rhetoric fuelled by intense political pressure.

They have strengthened transfer pricing laws and regulations following the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, and initiated numerous global audits on transfer pricing arrangements. Transfer pricing is also more than just an international tax issue, as evidenced by recent State aid investigations in the EU.

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作者：Fiona Beattie，Stephen Pevsner，Bill Ye以及Jerome Tse

对于跨国企业（MNE）来说，考虑自身在全球转让定价中的地位从未如此重要过。

受密集的政治压力所迫，各国政府进一步发表“对跨国税收采取强硬态度”的措辞以回应强大的政治压力。继经合组织（OECD）的税基侵蚀和利润转移（BEPS）项目之后，各国政府强化了转让定价法律法规，启动了对多项转让定价协议的全球审计。近期欧盟范围（EU）内的政府补贴调查显示，转让定价不仅仅只是一个国际税务问题。

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By Scott Farrell, Kate Jackson-Maynes, Max Allan and Johanan Ottensooser. King & Wood Mallesons

1farrell_s (1)0jackson-maynes_k key points on blockchain and the way it can change the fabric of finance

1. It is more than bitcoin.

Blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin but its use far exceeds digital currencies. The importance of blockchain to finance and financial markets is its potential beyond bitcoin.

2. A blockchain is a transaction record…

The “chain” is a record of transactions, each one following the one before. Ownership comes from the chain of previous transactions. A pre-digital analogy is early land title and the package of deeds showing all of the transactions which led from the original grant to the current ownership.

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By Huang Jianwen King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory Group

Ohuang_jianwenn 6 June 2016, 7 months after the China Food and Drug Administration (“CFDA”) published the Pilot Plan for the Drug Marketing Authorization Holder Mechanism (Draft for Public Opinions) (“Draft for Public Opinions”), the General Office of the State Council officially released the Pilot Plan for the Drug Marketing Authorization Holder Mechanism (Guo Ban Fa [2016] No. 41) (“Pilot Plan”), which attracted public attention.

According to the Pilot Plan, ten provinces and municipalities, including Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Hebei Province, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Shandong Province, Guangdong Province, and Sichuan Province will implement the pilot drug marketing authorization holder mechanism (“Drug MAH Mechanism”). This means that drug research and development (“R&D”) institutions and research personnel within the pilot regions are now eligible to apply and obtain drug marketing authorizations and drug approval numbers.  The Pilot Plan will be in effect until 4 November 2018.  It demonstrates China’s strong momentum to reform the drug registration mechanism in China, to stimulate drug R&D, and push for the specialization of drug R&D and manufacturing.

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作者：黄建雯 金杜律师事务所商务合规部

2huang_jianwen016年6月6日，在国家食品药品监督管理总局（“食药监总局”）发布《药品上市许可持有人制度试点方案（征求意见稿）》7个月之后，国务院办公厅正式公布了多方瞩目的《药品上市许可持有人制度试点方案》（国办发[2016]41号）（“试点方案”）。

根据试点方案，北京、天津、河北、上海、江苏、浙江、福建、山东、广东、四川等十个省、直辖市将开展药品上市许可持有人制度试点，允许药品研发机构和科研人员申请取得药品上市许可及药品批准文号。试点方案将实施至2018年11月4日。其进一步推动了我国药品注册制度的深化改革，有助于药品研发与创新，并促进药品研发、生产的专业化分工。

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By Scott Farrell, Claire Warren, Roslyn Hinchliffe and Johanan Ottensooser. King & Wood Mallesons’ Sydney Office

farrell_s (1)“Smart contract” is a buzzword phrase which could mean anything and be used to justify everything, from the realisation of the value of blockchain (another buzzword) to the end of lawyers (that can’t be right). To many, the recent “attack” on the most visible large smart contract in the world (the ominously named Decentralised Autonomous Organisation or DAO) has been a reality check for the dreams of replacing laws with computer code. Was this the warning of the “Skynet” moment for this nascent technology, a prescient alert to the dangers in delegating too much to the machines? Well, yes and no: but there is a way of combining the best of both human judgment and computer efficiency in the world of financial market contracts.

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By Simon Holmes (EU) , Emma Radcliffe (EU), Sharon Henrick (AU), James Darch (AU), Neil Carabine (HK), James Wilkinson (HK) and Kate Peng (PRC). King & Wood Mallesons

The volume and depth of cross-border cooperation between competition authorities is increasing, according to American Bar Association research. Greater collaboration between regulators has occurred as issues have become increasingly complex and multi-jurisdictional in nature.

This highlights the need for multinational companies to take a global approach to competition issues, including mergers and antitrust compliance. In turn, this requires careful coordination between competition advisors around the world – whether in the same firm or different firms.

This article provides an overview of our experience with competition regulators in each of Australia, China, Europe and Hong Kong, including:

  • each regulator’s general approach;
  • examples of matters involving cooperation with other jurisdictions; and
  • information sharing considerations.

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作者：彭荷月 （中国内地）、Neil Carabine （中国香港）、James Wilkinson （中国香港）、Simon Holmes （欧洲）、 Emma Radcliffe（欧洲）、Sharon Henrick （澳洲）及 James Darch （澳洲）  金杜律师事务所

根据美国律师协会的研究，竞争事务机构正在不断扩大和加深彼此的跨境合作。随着竞争事务日益呈现复杂化和跨管辖区的特点，监管机构也在着手深度合作。

这一现象凸显出，跨国公司需要在处理竞争事务（包括并购和反垄断合规）时保持全球视角。所以，这也要求全球各地的竞争事务顾问细心的相互协调，不论他们是否属同一家或不同律师事务所。

本文简要介绍我们在办理业务过程中分别与澳大利亚、中国、欧洲和香港竞争事务监管机构相处的经验，包括：

  • 每一监管机构的一般立场；
  • 涉及与其他管辖区合作的案例；及
  • 信息共享的考虑。

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作者：金杜律师事务所

金杜律师事务所被评为亚洲领先的法律品牌，在今天发布的2016年Acritas亚太律师事务所品牌指数排名中再次荣登榜首。

根据该地区顶尖机构的排名，金杜律师事务所在“知名度”和“喜爱度”中位列第一，是重大诉讼和并购项目的首选律所。事务所雄厚和广泛的跨境业务能力及其全球影响力也得到了认可，斩获“跨司法辖区业务”第二名，特别是“多司法辖区诉讼”领域。

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By Stephen Mason and Jodi Gray.King & Wood Mallesons

Smason_south Africa’s financial sector is currently undergoing significant regulatory reform, which will likely result in the establishment of a “twin peaks” model of regulation in the near future through the enactment of the Financial Sector Regulation Bill at some point during 2016.

This article summaries the outcomes of the past few years of reform efforts since the Government first announced its reform program in 2011, looking at: the institutions that will be established, the importance of financial stability and the enforcement and review mechanisms that will be put in place when the reforms are passed. It also provides an overview of further reforms of the financial sector that are in the pipeline.

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