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By Mark Schaub, Atticus Zhao and Xia Shengying King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities group

In a relatively short time autonomous vehicles have gone from a flight of fancy to a fully anticipated event. It is no longer seen as a futuristic concept but increasingly real as governments are passing regulations and in even clearer statement of intent by allocating funds in preparation for driverless cars. For many it is seen the next major manufacturing revolution which will likely transform the global automotive industry. The World Economic Forum estimates the digital transformation of the automotive industry will generate US$67 billion in value for the sector and US$3.1 trillion in societal benefit.[1] 
Continue Reading China: Mapping the Future

By Wu Qing and Linda Liang King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory group

One day, lawyer L received an emergency call from Ms. K, the head of the EHS department of a Shandong company. Ms. K said that the company has suffered frequent shutdown recently because of the “heavy air pollution stop working order” issued by the environmental protection department, which has seriously affected the company’s capacity. At the same time, the company’s suppliers are also affected by the order and unable to supply the company in time. Although this circumstance is not as serious as the “Schaeffler Incident,” the impact on the company cannot be ignored. Therefore, the whole company is very worried about this.
Continue Reading Is it possible to allege “Force Majeure”?

By Mark Schaub and Atticus Zhao King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities group

China is continuing to refine its regulatory framework for self-driving cars.

On 29 December 2017, (the last working day in 2017) the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Standardization Administration of China (SAC) jointly issued the final Guidelines for the Establishment of National Standards System of Telematics Industry (Intelligent & Connected Vehicles) (“Final Guidelines”). This happened six months after the draft guidelines were issued for public comment on 13 June 2017 (“Draft Guidelines”)[1].
Continue Reading Final Guidelines on Standards for Self-driving Cars

By Linda Liang and Hongchuan Li King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory group

On 24 November 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China (“MOHRSS”) issued the fifth list of documents to be annulled. The Measures for Severance Payment due to Violation or Termination of Employment Contracts[1]  (“No. 481”) is in this list.

This marks the official departure of the nearly 23 year old No.481 from the historical stage. How will its annulment affect employers and employees?
Continue Reading Labor Law Enters the “Post-No. 481 Era”

By Mark Schaub and Atticus Zhao King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities group

On 15 December 2017, Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, Beijing Traffic Management Bureau and Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology jointly issued the Beijing Guidance on Accelerating Road Testing for Self-driving Vehicles (Trial) and Beijing Implementing Rules for Managing Road Testing for Self-driving Vehicles (Trial) (collectively “Regulations”)[1]. 
Continue Reading Beijing Regulations on Self-driving Cars Road Testing

By Wu Wei, Zhu Yuanyuan and Zhang Shuang King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution group

Law No. 2016-1691 was enacted by the Constitutional Council of France on 8 December 2016 to strengthen enforcement against anti-corruption and bribery. Its pillars are transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of the economy.
Continue Reading Analysis of the Sapin II Law in France

By King & Wood Mallesons

King & Wood Mallesons represented NextView Capital (‘NextView’), a leading Chinese institutional fund management group focused on new technologies and energy in its acquisition of a 19.89% equity interest (non-diluted) in Bacanora Minerals Ltd. (a company listed on the TSX and on AIM) via the placement of 32,976,635 common shares at a price of 94.53 pence per share raising  £31,172,813 (approximately C$53,498,000). 
Continue Reading King & Wood Mallesons represents NextView Capital on its acquisition of a 19.89% equity interest in Bacanora Minerals Ltd.

This article was written by Monique Carroll with the assistance of Philippa Robinson.

As foreshadowed in our article Staying Ahead of the Curve on Anti-Bribery and Corruption in Australia, the Australian Government has now introduced the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017 (Cth) (“Bill”) into parliament which clarifies and increases the scope of conduct caught by foreign bribery offences and introduces a scheme encouraging self-reporting of breaches. 
Continue Reading Australia tightens the belt on foreign bribery and corruption

By Meg Utterback, Daisy Mallett, Holly Blackwell, James McKenzie, Josephine Lao, and Ma Xiao King & Wood Mallesons

China has been at the forefront of a number of recent developments in the dispute resolution space. One notable development is the announcement by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) of its new rules governing the arbitration of international investment disputes (Rules) and the CIETAC Investment Dispute Resolution Centre in Beijing (CIETAC IDRC), the default centre to administer those Rules. According to CIETAC’s Secretary-General, the Rules seek to “fill the gap” in the area of Chinese international investment arbitration and develop and promote the international investment arbitration practice in China[1].
Continue Reading CIETAC Investment Arbitration Rules

By Rudolf Haas and Urszula McCormack King & Wood Mallesons’

The growing number of token sales or “Initial Coin Offerings” (ICOs) has prompted the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to issue a “consumer warning” on November 9, 2017. BaFin also elaborated on its position in the November edition of its monthly “BaFin-Journal”, published on November 15. In a separate, but almost contemporaneous publication, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) also took a stance.

Overall, these were balanced statements that signalled a strong “buyer beware” message, but also implied a certain level of tolerance for properly issued ICOs. The regulators made clear that their approach is a careful case-by-case analysis.
Continue Reading German BaFin and ESMA clarify their stance on ICOs