NALB Oct 2012

A u d i t o r d i l e m m a : S F C s u i t i n H K c l a sh e s w i t h P R C s t a t e s e cr e t l a w s

october2012

NORTH ASIA EDITION

Shipping woes

Offshore leap

Litigation spikes in lean times

Firms spread their Asia reach

PAGE 14

PAGE 22

Philippines: Power play

INSIDE

Mining and renewables keep things hot

n Deals SPOTLIGHT

PAGE 30

04

n THE BIG STORY

05

n LEAGUE TABLES

08

n SUNDRIES

63

ASIA IS DRIVING THE WORLD ECONOMY. WE SEE THE ROAD AHEAD. Change defines our times – nowhere more so than in Asia. Your legal adviser should see change coming and understand its implications – wherever it arises. We are a leading Asian and global law firm with the vision to help our clients navigate complexity and change, evaluate risk and seize opportunity.

HERBERTSMITHFREEHILLS.COM

CONTENTS

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14

1

“Most of our work is sourced through large international law firms with whom we work on large transactional matters.”

Stephen Adams, Bedell Cristin

24

NEWS COVER STORY

Cultural shift: Rooting out insider trading in Japan

40

In the wake of headline-grabbing insider trading scandals that have plagued Japan for the last few months, a working group has finally been assembled by the country’s top financial regulator to discuss tightening its insider trading rules. However, unless harsher sanctions are put in place and implemented, some industry watchers are wary the common practice of sharing sensitive information could ever be stamped out. Candice Mak reports

With the global economy showing few signs of returning to the boom days of old, the shipping industry’s woes continue: Shipping companies are closing in numbers, and banks are pulling out of lending as well. The upside, however, is that a spike in disputes is keeping shipping lawyers busy, finds Ranajit Dam.

Offshore’s big leap

Offshore law firms are spreading their reach in Asia as they find a variety of sources of work capable of sustaining their long-term growth. With new offices and increased headcount in Singapore and Hong Kong, these firms are determined to make Asia their home, finds Raghavendra Verma.

14

22

Power play in the Philippines

Despite an economically depressing year, the Philippines has remained a favourite of astute and discerning investors, given its booming economy, wealth of energy resources, and the government’s firm steps to attract growth. Even an international palaver with China over contested oil and gas blocks in the South China Sea has not dimmed the majority of investors’ appetites, as the mining and renewables sectors heat up considerably with several new legislative developments.

Seher Hussain reports

04

BRIEFS

05

LEAGUE TABLES

08

APPOINTMENTS

13

INDEX

64

SPONSORED Regional Updates

FEATURES The search for placid waters

DEALS

30

— China

Paul, Weiss — Singapore

Loo & Partners — Malaysia

Wong & Partners — Philippines Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

SPONSORED UPDATES

56 57 58 58

— Emerging Markets

Kelvin Chia Partnership — Employment ATMD — International Tax AzureTax

60

SUNDRIES

63

60 61

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

2 ON THE COVER

MANAGING DIRECTOR Andrew Smart andrew.smart@thomsonreuters.com NORTH ASIA REGIONAL EDITOR Candice Mak candice.mak@thomsonreuters.com SOUTHEAST ASIA REGIONAL EDITOR Ranajit Dam ranajit.dam@thomsonreuters.com MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL EDITOR Shaheen Pasha shaheen.pasha@thomsonreuters.com JOURNALISTS Kanishk Verghese kanishk.verghese@thomsonreuters.com Seher Hussain seher.hussain@thomsonreuters.com Zhen Liu zhen.liu@thomsonreuters.com CONTRIbutorS Raghavendra Verma

REUTERS/Paul Yeung REUTERS/Issei Kato, REUTERS/Jim Young

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That Thomson Reuters shall at no time pass into the hands of any one interest, group or faction;

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That Thomson Reuters shall supply unbiased and reliable news services to newspapers, news agencies, broadcasters and other media subscribers and to businesses governments, institutions, individuals and others with whom Thomson Reuters has or may have contracts;

04 That Thomson Reuters shall pay due regard to the many interests which it serves in addition to those of the media; and 05 That no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business.

Please contact Andrew Smart with any questions. andrew.smart@thomsonreuters.com

copy editorS Vasundhara Chatterjee Sanchita Ghosh HEAD OF SALES May Wong may.wong@thomsonreuters.com ACCOUNT MANAGERS Jessie Cheung (Senior Sales Director, North Asia) jessie.cheung@thomsonreuters.com Yvonne Cheung (Senior Account Manager, China) yvonne.cheung@thomsonreuters.com Rebecca Ng (Account Manager, Southeast Asia) rebecca.ng@thomsonreuters.com Wendy Tan (Account Manager, Southeast Asia) wendy.tan@thomsonreuters.com DIRECTOR, EVENTS Lucinda Maguire lucinda.maguire@thomsonreuters.com DESIGNERS John Agra Yvette Chiu TRAFFIC MANAGERs Rozidah Jambari Ivy Tsang

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EDITORIAL

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3

Battling tradition We are constantly looking at ways to improve the accessibility of our content to readers, so following in the direction of ALB China – where the next issue will be our inaugural fully bilingual EnglishChinese edition – we have translated nearly all of the main features in this issue into Japanese. Not only was it fitting because our cover story zeroes in on Japan’s insider trading woes, but also because we listened to the feedback from our Japan readers and heard that many felt more comfortable reading our articles in their native language. Thanks to our partnerships with several market-leading translators, we are now able to provide Japanese content, and will continue to do so in the following months.

While speaking to market players in Japan about the recent regulatory scrutiny on insider trading, I was surprised to learn that many were not surprised – almost nonchalant - that supposedly confidential information was freely flowing around the tight-knit financial community. “It is fairly common that virtually all major market participants, including prospective buyers, know about the IPOs before their announcements,” one lawyer told me. It became clear that it was a deeply-rooted practice that would take time to weed out. Thus, despite the critical clamour from the international scene, from which many voices lambasted the leniency of the Japanese financial watchdogs, I came to understand why the Financial Services Agency (FSA) appeared to take so long to bring forth charges on alleged acts of insider trading.

“Perhaps it’s a cultural thing, but the Japanese authorities have historically been very cautious in implementing sanctions or penalties or alleging violations on anyone,” said another domestic lawyer. “If the FSA is going to go after someone for criminal punishment, especially those big name Japanese securities firms or financial institutions for even administrative penalties, it would ALB_210x87mm_bleed10mm.pdf 1 2011-8-12 11:04:50

have to have sufficient evidence and be very careful,” he further explained. He was saying was that judging from the outside, it may seem like the regulator was acting very slowly, but from the inside, it was working hard to gather adequate evidence before making any public and impactful accusations: “I think it was doing something, maybe not as quickly as it was expected to, but it was trying.”

One senior in-house counsel at a leading international investment bank (who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity) also dismissed the idea that simply based on a few regulation tweaks, that the culture could immediately be changed. It wasn’t about the law, he said, it was about enforcement and re-moulding the perspectives of the financial players. So as cliché as it sounds, only time will tell whether Japan can successfully regain the confidence of the global market once the culture of ‘information sharing’ is stamped out.

For a more in-depth read on this fascinating topic, please turn to page 40. I trust you will find this feature, and the rest of the issue informative and helpful. As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the editorial team.

CANDICE MAK North Asia Regional Editor, Asian Legal Business Thomson Reuters

DEALS spotlight

4

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012 n your month at a glance

$13.3 billion

Deal name

M&A CHINA TELECOM CORPORATION’S ACQUISITION OF 3G NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE FROM ITS PARENT COMPANY • The acquisition is pending regulatory and shareholder approval. It is expected to trim China Telecom’s costs in the long term.

• Earlier this year, China Telecom signed a deal with Apple to carry iPhones in an effort to draw more higher-end 3G users into its network.

• China Telecom had 147 million subscribers in July 2011, including 54 million 3G subscribers, according to Reuters.

$3.7 billion M&A DAIKIN INDUSTRIES’ ACQUISITION OF GOODMAN GLOBAL FROM HELLMAN & FRIEDMAN • Daikin will use loans, cash reserves and a bond issue of about 50 billion yen to fund the acquisition, a senior official at the Japanese company told Reuters.

• The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

VanceInfo Technologies and hiSoft Technology International’s all-stock merger

China Telecom Corporation’s acquisition of 3G network infrastructure from its parent company, China Telecommunications Company

Firm

Jurisdiction

Value ($ mln)

Deal type

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett HK/China

875

M&A

13,300

M&A

3,700

M&A

China/ Germany

931

M&A

HK/China

500

M&A

HK/China

700

M&A

1,090

Debt

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Sullivan & Cromwell

China

Jingtian & Gongcheng

Davis Polk & Daikin Industries’ acquisition of Wardwell Goodman Global from PE firm Hellman & Friedman Simpson Thacher &

Japan/U.S.

Bartlett Paul Hastings

Weichai Power’s purchase of a 25 percent stake in KION and a 70 percent share in KION’s hydraulics business

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer King & Wood Mallesons Hengeler Mueller

Chinese Estates Holdings’ sale of its 49 percent stake in Grandday Group to Dynamic Grand Ltd

QATAR PETROLEUM’S SAMURAI BOND ISSUANCE • The issuance is Qatar Petroleum’s first yen-denominated bond offering and the first ever by a Qatari entity.

• The oil company’s Samurai bond is its second ever international bond offering. The state-owned company’s only other bond deal was a $650 million 5.579% notes which matured in May last year.

Deacons Clifford Chance

$1.09 billion Debt

Clifford Chance

Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Private Ltd’s purchase of about $700 mln of China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd’s H-shares

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer King & Wood Mallesons Jun He Law Offices

Qatar Petroleum’s Samurai bond issuance

White & Case

Japan

BRIEFS

10.2012

05

the big story

The auditor’s dilemma Between a rock and a hard place

By Kanishk Verghese

I

n a case stressing the tension between upholding the financial transparency of Hong Kong-listed companies and China’s state secret laws, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong has initiated legal proceedings with Ernst & Young. The auditor, which is accused of failing to disclose accounting records related to a former China-based client, is now faced with a tricky decision: To comply with the regulator’s request and risk a possible breach of China’s state secrecy laws, or suffer a regulatory backlash in Hong Kong.

The issue of whether Chinese companies are subject to the country’s state secret rules – which prevent full disclosure – while listing on Hong Kong’s stock exchange is one that is being carefully examined by both auditors and the legal community.

“State secrecy laws are often invoked by [Mainland Chinese] companies as the reason for not responding to SFC enquiries.

This is at odds with the expectations of transparency in regulated markets like Hong Kong’s,” said Tom Fyfe, a partner at Simmons & Simmons, to Reuters.

Besides clouding the transparency of Hong Kong’s market, several lawyers point to the nebulous nature of the state secret rules and how they are interpreted by the authorities in China.

“The Mainland authorities have made announcements reminding firms of their obligations under [the secrecy rules] in recent years, but have not gone on to define fully what they are,” Chris Joy, executive director at the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs, told Reuters.

In the most recent case, the SFC has ordered Ernst & Young to hand over its audit records for Standard Water Ltd, a Chinese service provider of water supply and wastewater treatment plants. The regulator is ar-

guing that auditors should always be able to provide documents related to private companies applying for a listing in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Ernst & Young claims that the papers are held in China, and the country’s state secrecy laws prohibit the firm from disclosing these documents to the SFC.

to the state secret rules. As a result, in August this year, the SFC suspended trading of CHPAG shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The SFC’s recent moves to punish suspicious companies, and now auditors, underscore the regulator’s hard line stance against

Since the accounting firm was Standard Water’s main auditor, resisting the SFC’s request becomes all the more difficult. Though Ernst & Young had performed IPO audit work for Standard Water in 2009, it resigned in 2010 after discovering irregularities in the company’s documentation.

Ernst & Young is not alone. Other accounting firms too are encountering problems with China’s state secret rules. In November last year, KPMG resigned as auditor of China High Precision Automation Group (CHPAG) after finding discrepancies in the company’s figures. CHPAG announced that it could not provide the information KPMG sought due

those that attempt to cast a veil over full market disclosure. Just months ago in May, the SFC released a consultation paper seeking to toughen rules for IPO sponsors (See ALB July for an in-depth report).

While suspect companies have been on the receiving end of the SFC’s clampdown for some time, the Ernst & Young case is the first instance of an accounting firm being taken to court in Hong Kong over China’s state secret rules. A date for the first hearing in the Hong Kong court is yet to be set, but it is without a doubt that the compliance and legal community – and auditors of course – will be closely watching the events unfold.

6

BRIEFS

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Uphill battle for Malaysia masterplan Malaysia’s sweeping Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which includes a badly needed mass transit system for Kuala Lumpur, is facing increasing scepticism that it cannot attract the level of private investment needed to meet its goals.

A key target is to have private investors fund 60 percent of the ETP. Two years after its creation, the programme is leaning heavily on state spending through 2011, fully private companies accounted for less than 35 percent - even as the Southeast Asian nation posts impressive growth rates the government credits partly to its masterplan.

Critics contend that the ETP is a snazzy throwback to Malaysian megaprojects that failed to deliver, from a multimedia "super corridor", derailed by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and dotcom bust, to "BioValley", a planned bio tech hub that sank after its 2003 launch.

MALAYSIA’S ECONOMIC PROGRAMME AND INCOME Select governmentbacked ETP projects - bln ringgit

35000

Refinery & Petrochem Integrated Dev

Klang Valley mass rapid transit Karambunai Integrated Resort City*

Gross National Income per capita - 000 ringgit

Current account 50000 balance - bln ringgit

28000

40000

21000

30000

14000

20000

7000

10000

Electricity infrastructure Developing marginal oil/gas fields Balai cluster oil fields Regasification plant 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11

0

* Private sector project Sources: Malaysia Central Bank, Malaysia Statistics, Pemandu Reuters graphic/Catherine Trevethan

15/08/12

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @ALB_Magazine With its portfolio of leading titles, online services, Law Awards and In-House Legal Summits, ALB provides authoritative and unbiased insights, and unmatched networking and business development opportunities, to legal professionals throughout Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

ALB twitter ad HP_final.indd 1

31/5/12 10:33 AM

7

‘Think, then think again before you act.’

GC INTERVIEW

LEK YI SIANG Position: Regional General Counsel Company: Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd

ALB: How is your role different from lawyers in other industries?

LYS: I think my industry moves a little faster than many industries because many snap decisions have to be made on pressing or risky issues and legal advice has to be given to management quickly. This is because many engineering, procurement and construction contractors of mega projects like gas and oil plants have to coordinate with the plant enduser/owner and a large number of other subcontractors, including my company, and they operate on short notices most of the time.

ALB: What are some of the major trends in your industry? And how have these affected your role?

LYS: Energy has become the lifeblood of modern economic development, but the traditional sources of energy like oil and gas have become expensive and more scarce; and amid concerns of carbon emissions, we have now gone on to alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, thermal and hydro power. With this growing trend, there is a need to keep up to date with any new local and international rules and regulations, and how they affect the company and its businesses.

ALB: Can you describe the structure of your legal team?

LYS: My team is spread across

the ASEAN and Australia/New Zealand regional offices, with three other legal counsel supported by three contract managers and legal executives. As the group’s business is mainly international projects in these regions, a lot of cooperation is required within the team to coordinate the legal work, with me supervising and advising the respective heads of departments.

ALB: What are the most important qualities someone in your role must possess?

LYS: An in-house lawyer needs to be able to oversee and manage the handling of many matters on various topics from different arms of the business. He or she must have the ability to shift gears between matters with minimum lag. When there is a conflict between achieving profits and legal obstacles in the conclusion of a contract, he or she needs to think firstly from the perspective of a business person and then as a lawyer to get around these obstacles with the minimum of risks.

ALB: How would you describe the strategy for the legal team?

LYS: I strive to get the team to engage in collaborative problem solving, rather than to just provide legal advice or provide contract reviews in a vacuum. It is all too easy to tell the business what are the

REUTERS/Handout .

BRIEFS

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legal risks or what are the do’s and don’ts. But it is not easy to cultivate soft skills to stand in the position of the business person, and then work with him on the best way forward.

ALB: What can in-house counsel do to make themselves an indispensable part of the organisation?

LYS: An in-house counsel provides legal advice on a business context, and not from a practitioner’s context.

As such, the in-house counsel needs to learn to cultivate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to be comfortable in a variety of situations, from presenting tough issues at the negotiating table of the customer to the sudden late night call or e-mail from a colleague in another time zone seeking advice.

ALB: What is the best advice you have ever received?

LYS: The best advice I have received so far was “think, then think again before you act,” from my former supervisor when I was still in legal practice. When faced with pressing deadlines and mountains of work, a lawyer can easily make mistakes which will affect the overall matter he or she is handling. Thus, before one decides on a course of action, he or she needs to think again whether that course of action is the one to take, for better or worse.

LEAGUE TABLES

8

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

CHINA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

HONG KONG Announced M&A Legal Rankings

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

26,603.6

DEALS: 10 RANK

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

4,849.8

VALUE ($mln)

DEALS: 5

MARKET SHARE: 17.1

LEGAL ADVISER

VALUE ($MLN)

DEALS

MARKET SHARE

RANK

VALUE ($mln)

MARKET SHARE: 10.9

LEGAL ADVISER

VALUE ($MLN)

DEALS

MARKET SHARE

2

Sullivan & Cromwell

24,363.4

5

15.7

2

Clifford Chance

4,047.9

14

9.1

3

Davis Polk & Wardwell

20,633.8

5

13.3

3

Sullivan & Cromwell

3,854.7

3

8.6

4

Paul, Weiss

19,605.9

4

12.6

4

Allen & Overy

3,781.7

7

8.5

5

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

18,724.6

7

12.1

5

Baker & McKenzie

3,641.6

8

8.2

6

Stikeman Elliott

17,911.8

2

11.5

6

Linklaters

2,662.7

9

6.0

7*

Burnet Duckworth & Palmer

17,665.6

1

11.4

7

Jones Day

2,400.7

2

5.4

7*

Richard A Shaw Professional Corp

17,665.6

1

11.4

8

Zhong Lun Law Firm

2,190.6

3

4.9

7*

Blake Cassels & Graydon

17,665.6

1

11.4

9

WongPartnership

1,354.1

8

3.0

7*

Osler Hoskin & Harcourt

17,665.6

1

11.4

10

Allen & Gledhill

1,247.1

5

2.8

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

JAPAN Announced M&A Legal Rankings

SOUTH KOREA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

Lee & Ko

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

39,524.0

DEALS: 94 RANK

8,071.5

VALUE ($mln)

MARKET SHARE: 33.8

LEGAL ADVISER

DEALS: 58

VALUE ($MLN)

DEALS

MARKET SHARE

RANK

VALUE ($mln)

MARKET SHARE: 20.8

LEGAL ADVISER

VALUE ($MLN)

DEALS

MARKET SHARE

2

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

32,678.5

89

27.9

2

Kim & Chang

6,839.7

66

17.6

3

Nishimura & Asahi

25,553.6

63

21.8

3

Bae Kim & Lee

4,088.8

28

10.5

4

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

14,829.4

16

12.7

4

Latham & Watkins

3,623.1

2

9.3

5

Blake Cassels & Graydon

14,262.4

4

12.2

5

Jipyong Jisung

3,526.1

2

9.1

6

Jones Day

9,262.8

11

7.9

6

Freehills

3,309.1

1

8.5

7

Skadden

8,238.2

11

7.0

7

Shin & Kim

2,545.2

16

6.6

8

Davis Polk & Wardwell

7,086.4

9

6.1

8

Yulchon

2,184.1

16

5.6

9

Paul, Weiss

6,692.3

4

5.7

9

Linklaters

1,695.5

3

4.4

10

Shearman & Sterling

6,538.5

8

5.6

10

Yoon & Yang

1,578.6

8

4.1

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

160

Series1

140 120

93.9

100 80 60

Series2 128.9 112.5 104.9 103.4 99.7

54.5

143.7

92.4

70.5

61.7

130.2 112.1 100.8 81.8

75.3

3,000

136.6 128.3

127.1128.0 114.6 107.0

83.8

98.4

2,500

116.4

2,000 50.2

54.1

1,500 1,000 500

40 20

No. of Transactions

Rank Value US$ Billion

ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

0 1Q 06

3Q 06

1Q 07

3Q 07

1Q 08

3Q 08

1Q 09

3Q 09

1Q 10

3Q 10

1Q 11

3Q 11

1Q 12

3Q 12

NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan. Data accurate as of September 25, 2012

SP ONS O R E D ARTI C L E

MAXWELL CHAMBERS “People often ask me why Maxwell Chambers is referred to as the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex”, says Ban Jiun Ean, Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers.

“Before Maxwell Chambers, the traditional model was for alternate dispute resolution (ADR) institutions to work in isolation, offering their hearing facilities exclusively to their own clients,” says Ban. “But when Maxwell Chambers was launched, we decided to put the needs of the clients first by bringing leading ADR institutions, arbitrators and practitioners under one roof.”

Maxwell Chambers currently hosts the Asia offices of several ADR institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which holds around 30 arbitration hearings each year in Singapore. ICC was one of the first tenants of Maxwell Chambers in December 2009.

Kim Kit Ow, Director, ICC Arbitration & ADR (Asia), says, “We chose Maxwell Chambers as it was a fully integrated and specialised international arbitration facility with many complementary features.”

The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the international division of the American Arbitration Association, also opened its Asia office at Maxwell Chambers in 2009.

Michael Lee, Director of ICDR Singapore, says that having many leading institutions housed within the same facility “creates credibility, a sense of comfort and safety, and a sense of being open & international; it is something that not even New York or Paris has.” Lee adds, “The synergy generated by friendly competition among the institutions also plays a critical role in Maxwell Chambers’ success”.

Another of Maxwell Chambers’ key tenants is the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), which handles cases from more than 40 jurisdictions.

Minn Naing Oo, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of SIAC, says that from the arbitration clients’ perspective, Maxwell Chambers offers a building full of people who understand their needs.

“It creates a nice ecosystem and a focal point for international arbitration in Singapore,” says Minn.

For Maxwell Chambers, the ADR institutions are not simply tenants, but partners. “Hosting leading ADR institutions gives clients confidence in our facility and attracts more hearings to Maxwell Chambers,” says Ban. “In return, our partners gain greater exposure in Asia and have access to dedicated hearing facilities literally at

Maxwell Chambers Premier

its popularity, given the international nature of most hearings held at the facility. “Many foreign law firms use the hearing rooms as their temporary office in the evenings,” says Minn, “They put all their documents in the room and often work during the night”.

As for ICC’s Ow, “No other place in Singapore is as comfortable as Maxwell Chambers, and most of our clients have already heard about the facility. Since we opened our office, we have received Maxwell Chambers@Centennial very positive feedback about Maxwell Chambers from our clients.”

Being physically located in same building where their clients’ hearings are held also helps the institution in terms of logistics and the number of cases it can handle at the same time. “If there are many hearings at close intervals, the barristers find it easier to move from one case to the other,” says Ow. With Maxwell Chambers being situated in Singapore’s central business district, Minn notes that Maxwell Chambers is also a popular venue for social gatherings of arbitration professionals. “We regularly hold seminars and cocktails parties here because it is a convenient location and a very nice facility.”

From Ban’s perspective, Maxwell Chambers’ partnerships with the tenant ADR institutions have been a success and he is optimistic about the future.

“With more companies pushing for Asian seats of arbitration in their contracts with non-Asian parties,” he says, “we are confident that the number of arbitration cases coming to Singapore will continue to grow, and Maxwell Chambers will be a part of that.”

their doorsteps.”

Three years on, what do the ADR institutions think about Maxwell Chambers?

“Maxwell Chambers is the automatic choice for holding arbitration proceedings in Singapore”, says Minn. “With very modern facilities, it is the best of its kind in the world.”

The fact that Maxwell Chambers is accessible 24 hours a day during hearings further adds to

Maxwell Chambers@Centennial | 3 Temasek Avenue #16-01, Singapore 039190 | +65 6595 9010 | info@maxwell-chambers.com Maxwell Chambers Premier | 32 Maxwell Road #03-01, Singapore 069115 | +65 6595 9011 | info@maxwell-chambers.com

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

THIS MONTH’S TOP HEADLINES FROM WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

In fashion circles, lawyers becoming hot accessories

One of the hottest new trends in fashion is emerging from an unlikely venue: Law school. Fashion law is a burgeoning niche practice in New York and Los Angeles, both hubs of the approximately $200 billion U.S. apparel market.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

China eyes more EU investment after slow start

The ambition of China’s number two bank to spend more on a single acquisition than the value of all of the country’s European deals in the past two years sends a clear signal of intent: Europe is finally on China’s takeover radar.

REUTERS/Toru Hanai

four firms help JAL’s IPO fly

JAL’s $8.5 billion IPO - the world’s secondlargest this year - saw law firms Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Sullivan & Cromwell, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett providing legal counsel.

REUTERS/Aly Song

Akin Gump appoints new Beijing chief

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has hired corporate lawyer William L. Rosoff as the partner-in-charge of its Beijing office. He replaces Spencer Griffith, who is relocating back to the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Beijing launch for Eversheds

Eversheds plans to open its Beijing office in December. The UK firm was recently granted its licence to practice in the city, which will bring the total number of its Asian operations to four.

China to expand pilot property tax scheme

China will expand its pilot property tax reform beyond Shanghai and Chongqing in an effort to cool rising housing prices, an official from the State Administration of Taxation said in comments published in September.

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Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Investing in China as a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”)

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he Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program (“QFII Program”) was introduced in 2002 to allow foreign investors greater access to China’s capital markets.

When a foreign investor is approved to be a QFII, it is granted permission to buy and sell shares in the A-share market and participate in other types of investments in China, which foreign investors are otherwise prohibited from owning and trading.

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INCREASED INVESTMENT QUOTA Along with accelerating the application examination timeline, the CSRC also decided to increase the overall investment quota from US$30 billion to US$80 billion.

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ACCELERATED APPLICATION TIMELINE Recently the CSRC has shortened the application timeline to six months or even less while historically, the timetable for QFII approval was one to two years. Based on numbers released by the CSRC, the rate of QFII fund establishment is accelerating: in 2011, only 29 institutions obtained QFII qualification, whereas the CSRC had already approved 46 QFIIs by the end of August this year.

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THE QFII APPLICATION PROCESS The QFII application is a dual-approval regime: foreign institutional investors first apply for QFII designation (“QFII Designation”) with the CSRC and then obtain an investment quota from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”). The maximum investment quota that a single QFII may obtain in aggregate is US$1 billion. A single QFII may not apply for an investment quota smaller than US$50 million with each application.

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Cadwalader will host a China investment conference with China International Capital Corporation Limited (“CICC”) this October in New York, featuring guest speakers from the CSRC, International Monetary Fund (“IMF”), Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Asset Management, Harvest Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, Bank of Communications Schroder Fund Management, MegaTrust Investment, and Rosefinch Investment. Senior officials from several regulatory bodies, will offer insight on China’s financial reforms, QFIIs, macroeconomic outlook and financial stability. For more details about the QFII Program or the October conference, please feel free to contact Cadwalader.

About Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, established in 1792, is one of the world’s leading international law firms, with offices in New York, Washington, Charlotte, Houston, London, Hong Kong, Beijing and Brussels. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the world’s top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries in six continents. The firm offers legal expertise in antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, energy, financial restructuring and reorganizations, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private client, private equity, real estate, regulation, securitization, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com.

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

平穏を WITH THE GLOBAL ECONOMY SHOWING FEW SIGNS OF RETURNING TO THE BOOM DAYS OF OLD, THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY’S WOES CONTINUE: SHIPPING COMPANIES ARE CLOSING IN NUMBERS, AND BANKS ARE PULLING OUT OF LENDING AS WELL. THE UPSIDE, HOWEVER, IS THAT A SPIKE IN DISPUTES IS KEEPING SHIPPING LAWYERS BUSY, FINDS RANAJIT DAM

T

he shipping industry is famously a cyclical one, with up-cycles and down-cycles following each other over the decades.

But even then, there could have been few trying times like the present. “The industry really is going through a financial crisis,” says Leong Kah Wah, the deputy head of Rajah & Tann’s admiralty and shipping practice. “Ship owners are still reporting huge losses. It is predicted that this year and next year, there will be no upturn in the market.” Matthew Lam, a partner with Clyde & Co in Hong

海

運業界はご周知のとおり循環周期がある。上昇期と 下降期が何十年にもわたって交互に続くが、それで も現在のような試練のときもあったかもしれない。 「業界は今まさに金融危機に直面している。」と Rajah & Tann’s Admiralty & Shipping Practiceのパート ナーLeong Kah Wahは言う。「船舶の所有者は巨額の損失を報 告している。今年と来年は市場は好転することはないだろうと予測 されている。香港のClyde & Co のパートナー、マシュー・ラム は海運業界にひどく影響及ぼしている要因として全般的に過剰投資 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

Kong, names general overcapacity, poor freight rates, and high fuel prices as being among the factors affecting the shipping industry badly. “Some ships are being laid up and some shipping companies are struggling to make a profit and maintain a cash balance,” he says. “The difficulty in obtaining finance has also made the situation worse. There have been a number of liquidations and restructurings involving shipping companies.”

The fact that the shipping industry is in a depressed state is not

していること、安い運賃、高い燃料代を挙げる。船の一部は係船さ れ、船会社は利益を上げ、キャッシュバランスを維持するために苦 労している。融資を得ることの困難さが、状況をさらに悪くしてい る。船会社を巻き込んだ清算や再編が多数あった。」 海運業界が落ち込んだ状況にあるという現実は新しいものでは ないが、そんな状況がそんなにも長い間続いたことは様々な業界プ レーヤーをかなり困難な状況に陥れた。 2008年の世界的な金融危 機の間に、少数だが景気の二番底があるだろうと予想するもの者 もいたとLeongは言う。「それで2011年11月期における好転を期

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SHIPPING

15

求めて (L-R) Cargo is unloaded from Emma Maersk at Container Terminal 9 in Hong Kong; Containers are seen at Container Terminal 9 in Hong Kong; Cargo is seen on the deck of Emma Maersk at Container Terminal 9 in Hong Kong; Cargo is unloaded from Emma Maersk at Container Terminal 9 in Hong Kong. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

世界経済が古き良き時代に戻るわずかな兆候を示すが、海運業界の苦悩は続く：船会社は数が減少し、銀 行も融資から撤退している。そして、よい面といえば紛争の増加で船積み弁護士は忙しくなったことだとラ ナジット・ダムは認める。

new, but the fact that the situation has carried on for so long has made it particularly hard on the various players. During the global financial crisis of 2008, few had predicted there would be a double dip, says Leong. “So shipping companies decided to postpone their obligations, and even restructured their facilities, hoping for an upturn in 2010 and 2011,” he adds. “On top of that, they deferred taking delivery of new vessels that were scheduled for delivery in 2010 or later. So not only did the owners commit themselves to huge amounts of financing, they

待して、船会社は債務を延期し、更なる信用を得るために就航ライ ンの拡大までした。」と彼は付け加えた。「おまけに、2010年か それ以降に納品の新しい船まで注文した。船舶の所有者は多大な出 資努力をしただけでなく、新しい船を建造することで新しいプロジ ェクトに最大限の努力を投じた。」しかし、歴史が示しているよう に、よき時代は世界経済にも海運業界にも戻ってこなかった。「そ れで、もっとも評判のよい船舶所有者でさえ大きな損失があったと いうのは驚くに値しない。」とLeongは言う。 増大する損失と落ち込んだ資産価値と共に、融資を得ること ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

“WHILE THINGS MAY LOOK BLEAK FOR THE OVERALL INDUSTRY, ON THE LEGAL SIDE, (AND I’M EMBARRASSED TO SAY) WE ARE KEPT VERY BUSY. DUE TO THE DIFFICULTIES THAT THESE PARTIES ARE IN, THERE’S BOUND TO BE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEGAL ADVICE, RESTRUCTURING AND THEN DISPUTES, BECAUSE IT’S JUST SO DIFFICULT TO WRITE OFF CLAIMS.” LEONG KAH WAH, Rajah & Tann

16

SHIPPING

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

also committed themselves to new projects by building new vessels.”

But as history has shown, the good times have not returned for either the global economy, or the shipping industry. “So it’s no surprise that there have been large losses for even the most reputable ship owners,” says Leong.

Along with mounting losses and depressed asset values, obtaining financing has become a major bugbear of the shipping industry, and Chris Grieveson, partner at Wikborg Rein, says it has much to do with the banks’ current approach to the shipping industry. “Following the 2000 Basel convention and the introduction of a number of foreign regulations on bank insolvency, banks have to be very careful about their debt-to-asset value ratios,” he says. “Shipping is a very capital intensive business, and additionally, with shipping not being a high return area for banks, we are seeing a lot of banks pulling away from shipping, and taking shipping out of their books when it comes to new lending.”

RESTRUCTURING, LIQUIDATION ON THE RISE With the downturn in the market continuing, it is no surprise that restructuring and liquidation are on the rise in the shipping industry.

“SHIPPING IS A VERY CAPITAL INTENSIVE BUSINESS, AND ADDITIONALLY, WITH SHIPPING NOT BEING A HIGH RETURN AREA FOR BANKS, WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF BANKS PULLING AWAY FROM SHIPPING, AND TAKING SHIPPING OUT OF THEIR BOOKS WHEN IT COMES TO NEW LENDING.” CHRIS GRIEVESON, Wikborg Rein

は、海運業界の主な悩みの種となっており、Wikborg Rein のパ ートナー、クリス・グリーブソンによるとそれは現在の銀行の海 運業界に対するアプローチの仕方と大いに関係していると言う。 「2000年のバーゼル条約と銀行破綻に関する多数の海外規制の導 入に引き続き、銀行は資産負債価値比率 に非常に慎重でなければ ならない。」と彼は言う。「海運業は非常に資本集約的な事業で、 そしてさらには、銀行にとってハイリターンの領域でもないので、 海運業から撤退し、新規融資となると海運業を帳簿外とする数多く の銀行を見てきている。」 再編と清算の増加 市場の低迷が続き、海運業界で再編や清算が増加しているのも 驚くべきことではない。「近年、アジアでひときわ目立つものが 数多くある。ひとつの例としては三光汽船を巻き込んだ、破産保護 だ。」とその際に自分の会社が債権者代理としての役割を果たした ラムは言う。グリーブソンは同意する。「再編コミュニティーが大 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

きく成長したと思う。清算人は今や週末や夜中も呼び出される。そ れだけ忙しいのだ。」 再編におけるこの高まりの要因の一つは、銀行が帳簿に複数の 不良貸し付けを抱えそれを不良債権に変える余裕もないことだと Leongは言う。「ローン下で権利を行使したとたん、株主たちに 説明しなければならない賃借対照表の大きな穴を発見する。」と彼 は言う。 「そこで、彼らは船を買戻し管理会社に船を管理させるとい う、それを延期するための創造的な方法を考案する。しかしこれは 下手な考えだ：あなたは、この管理会社が船舶操業の経営不振を実 際に立て直すことができ、既存の船舶所有会社が自分たちでやって いるよりももっと利益を上げてくれると期待している。」 しかし、彼が言うには再編における主な問題は、海運業は地球 規模産業であるが、行き詰まった企業はめったに挑戦あるいは好転 させる機会すらもたないことだという。「会社はシンガポールに拠 点を置いていて、船は世界各地で操業しているとしよう。」と彼は

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SHIPPING

17

A man walks near a container ship at a port in Tokyo. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

“There have been a number of high-profile ones in Asia in recent years. One example is the bankruptcy protection involving Sanko Steamship,” says Lam, whose firm is acting for the creditor in that case. Grieveson agrees: “I think the restructuring community has grown massively. Liquidators are now scheduling calls on weekends and at midnight; that’s how much work they have.”

One of the factors behind this surge in restructuring, says Leong, is that banks are stuck with bad loans on their books that they can-

not afford to convert into bad debts. “The minute they enforce their rights under the loan, they will find they have a big hole in their balance sheets that they must account for to their shareholders,” he says. “So they are coming up with creative ways to postpone that by repossessing the vessels, and having management companies running the vessel. But my personal view is that this may not be a good idea: You are hoping that this management company can actually turn the operations of the vessel around, and give you a more positive return

言う。「シンガポールの裁判所に行って、債務整理計画を得る。こ れは会社が提訴されることから一時的な猶予として機能する。しか し、その間、もし船舶が香港へ行けば、そこにある債権者の船舶は 拘束される可能性がある。」他国の破産法を尊重する国もごくわず かにあるが、この点において、国家間ではほとんど調整がなされて いない。「その意味では、一つの国がその企業市民を休ませている 間、債権者はまだ借金の回復を試みることができる。」とLeong は付け加える。これは、純粋に海外と全く関係のない純粋に国内の 商社でない限り、その会社が再編し生き残るのにその会社に残され

た時間や余裕がわずかしかないことを意味する。

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

アジア：同じだけど違う Wikborg Rein のグリーブソンは、彼の会社がアジアの企業に 再編が多発しているのを見てきていると言う。「ほとんどの人たち はアジアにインフレを伴なわない急激な経済成長の抑制があったと 考えていた。しかし、海運業が関係している限り、それは本当に噛 み付きはじめた。」と彼は言う。Clyde & Co のラムはアジアの 船会社はグローバル企業同様、大変な時期に直面していることに同

18

SHIPPING& RESOURCES ENERGY

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

A truck carries a container from COSCO at a Hong Kong container terminal. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

than the traditional ship owning company is doing for themselves.

Plus, unlike good wine, ships depreciate with age!”

However, the main problem with restructuring, he says, is that with shipping being a global industry, distressed companies rarely get the space to try and turn things around. “Let’s say the company is based in Singapore, but has vessels operating worldwide,” he says. “We go to a Singaporean court and obtain a Scheme of Arrangement, which acts as a temporary reprieve for the company from being sued. But during that time, if a vessel makes its way into Hong Kong, a creditor there can have the ship arrested.” He notes that there is very little coordination between countries in this regard, with few having respect for the insolvency laws of others. “In that sense, while one country is giving its corporate citizen a break, creditors can still attempt to recover their debts,” Leong adds. “This means that there is very little time or space that can be given to that company to restructure and breathe, unless it is a purely domestic trading company without any foreign relations, which is hardly the case in shipping.”

ASIA: SAME BUT DIFFERENT Grieveson of Wikborg Rein says that his firm is seeing a lot of restructuring happening to companies in Asia. “Most people thought Asia had a soft landing, but as far as shipping is concerned, it’s really starting to bite,” he says. Lam of Clyde & Co agrees that shipping companies in Asia are facing tough times as their global counterparts.

“Overcapacities, poor freight rates, and high fuel prices are affecting shipping companies across the globe,” he says. “In Asia, the industry was kept working with the demand from China, but that is now on the wane. This has affected dry bulk shipping in the main, but lower demand for finished goods has also hit the container trade as well.”

Leong, however, believes that Asian shipping companies are losing less money than the European ones. “They are pretty much banking on two or three regions: China, India and Indonesia. These are energyrich and resources filled; there’s a demand for all these things,” he says adding that while the container trade is “dead”, the bulk cargo business is keeping owners afloat. Another factor he mentions is the

意する。過剰生産能力、安い運賃、高い燃料費は全世界で船会社に 影響を与えている。」と彼は言う。「アジアでは、業界は、中国か らの需要で動き続けたが、それが今や衰えかけている。これは主に ドライバルクの輸送に影響を与えたが、加工品への需要減もコンテ ナ貿易に打撃を与えている。 しかし、Leongはアジアの船会社はヨーロッパの船会社ほど損 失が大きくないと信じている。「彼らは、中国、インド、インドネ シアの２、３の地域でかなり多く銀行と取引している。これらの国 々は、エネルギー資源やその他の資源に恵まれており、それらすべ てに対する需要がある。」、またコンテナ貿易は「死んだ」、バラ 積み貨物事業が船舶所有者を破綻させずに操業を続けさせていると 付け加えつつ彼は言う。彼が言及するもうひとつの要因はアジアの 船舶所有者が互いに協力して操業しようとしている傾向である。「 彼らはたぶん、欧米への航路を開くことに熱心ではないので、自分 たちの中でもっと協力合意をすることで自分たちを強化している。 」とLeongは言う。 「彼らにとって下落する市価利益を打ち勝つためには航路

を共有する方がはるかに楽なのである。」さらに、Leong は アジアの船会社は運賃で競うことができると指摘する。すなわ ち、Maerskのようなヨーロッパの大手船会社が提供するであろ う価格よりも、アジアの船会社は一般的には10から15パーセント 安い。しかし、アジアの海運会社で上手にうまくやっているのはホ テル、サービスアパートメント、不動産のように事業の多様化をは かったところである、と同時にかれは指摘する。「アジアで卵を一 つや二つのかごに置いているような家族経営の会社はみな無くなっ てしまった。」と彼は付け加える。「近頃は船会社を経営するだけ で生き残ることはできない。」 Chemical, LPG & Product Tanker Group のシンガポー ル拠点の常務取締役 、バン·デ·ボスポートはDVB銀行で指摘する。 アジアの銀行は西欧の銀行よりずっと状態がよい。「アジアの船舶 所有者にとってまだ銀行からの資金調達が比較的容易であるという ことを意味する。」と彼は言う。「しかし、我々はアジアよりもヨ ーロッパやアメリカなどの西洋でもっとビジネスをしている。なぜ なら、取引条件、すなわちアジアで得られる利幅は、はるかに競合

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

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inclination of Asian ship owners to work together. “They’re probably not keen to open up routes to go into Europe and America. So what we are doing is consolidating among themselves by having more cooperation agreements,” says Leong. “It is a lot easier for them to share routes so as to beat falling market returns.”

Additionally, Leong notes that Asian shipping companies can compete on freight prices, which are generally 10 to 15 percent lower than what a big European owner like Maersk would traditionally offer.

However at the same time, he notes that the Asian shipping companies that are doing slightly better are the ones that have diversified into businesses like hotels, serviced apartments and real estate. “The Asian family-owned companies that put their eggs into one or two baskets are all gone,” he adds. “You can’t survive by just being a shipping company these days.”

Frans van de Bospoort, Singapore-based managing director of the Chemical, LPG & Product Tanker Group at DVB Bank, notes that Asian banks are in much better shape than Western ones. “That, of course, implies that owners in Asia still have relatively good access to funding with their banks,” he says. “However, we are actually doing much more business now in the West, in Europe, and the States than we are in Asia. It’s because the terms and conditions, the margins we can get in Asia are much more competitive, so it makes more sense to focus more at this time on Europe.” Leong notes that while all banks,

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19

whether Asian or European, face the same problems, “banks somehow find it easier to say to an Asian owner, ‘I will tolerate your defaults or delays in payment’ compared to, say, an European owner, of course with the crisis in Europe in mind.”

NEW TRENDS According to van de Bospoort, one important trend that he has seen is that the void created by the lack of traditional bank finance has led to private equity money making its way into the shipping industry.

“You can see the increased appetite of a lot of private equity firms, particularly in the U.S. for shipping,” he says. “These are multibillion funds targeting specific segments of the industry.” Additionally, he notes the growing role of export credit agencies in stimulating the shipping industry, particularly those in countries like the Republic of Korea, China and Japan.

Lam notes that due to the general overcapacity issue, it is becoming more difficult for shipping companies to make a profit in traditional shipping business, particularly in the liner and dry bulk segments.

“Some shipping companies and yards are trying to diversify their businesses.” Grieveson sees a move towards offshore. “Many of the big-name Greek owners have been putting money into drill ships, into rigs and into LNG, where there’s still good money,” he says. “Lot of cash-rich Greeks are moving into the offshore market.”

“While things may look bleak for the overall industry, on the legal side, (and I’m embarrassed to say) we are kept very busy. Due to the difficulties that these parties are in, there’s bound to be a lot of opportunities for legal advice, restructuring and then disputes, because it’s just so difficult to write off claims.”

Leong Kah Wah, Rajah & Tann しているので、現時点ではヨーロッパに労力を注ぎ込むというのは 当然だ。」Leongはアジアの銀行だろうがヨーロッパの銀行だろ うがすべての銀行が同じ問題に直面している一方、「銀行はどうい うわけかアジアの船舶所有者に話しやすいと感じており、例えばギ リシャまたはドイツの船舶所有者に比べて『あなたの債務不履行や 支払の遅延を大目にみますよ。』ということなのだと指摘する。」 新しいトレンド バン·デ·ボスポートによると、彼が見た重要なトレンドの一つと しては伝統的な銀行融資の欠如により作られた空洞により未公開株 式マネーが海運業界へと投じられたという。「多くの民間投資会社 の、特にアメリカの海運業界において 欲求の高さを見て取ること ができる。」と彼は言う。「それらは業界の特定のセグメントを ターゲットとした数十億の資金だ。」さらに、彼は、特に韓国や中 国、日本のような国々において海運業界を刺激するという意味にお いて輸出信用機関の役割が増大していることを指摘した。 全般的な過剰生産能力問題により、特に、定期船やドライバル クのセグメントにおいて、既存の海運業で利益を上げるのがより困 難になってきているとラムは指摘する。「海運業者や貨物置場の中 には事業を多角化しようと努めているものもある。」グリーブソン はオフショアに向けた動きを見ている。『多くの著名なギリシャの 船舶所有者たちは、まだ良いお金がある掘削船 掘削装置、液化天 然ガス に資金を注ぎ込んでいる。」と彼は言う。「資金力のある ギリシア人の多くは、オフショア市場に進出している。」 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

しかし、ラム は必ずしもこれが最も容易に起こせる行動ではな いと言う。「オフショア区分は現時点では過剰生産能力の問題に 直面してはいないように思える。しかし、事業参入コストは大抵高 く、成功するのは必ずしも容易ではない。」と彼は付け加える。ラ ムは同意する。「海運業者や銀行だけではなく我々もエネルギーや オフショアに進出し、昔から伝統的な輸送にのみ保険をかけ、てい る保険会社を見ている。」と彼は言う。「でも、それらの分野に進 出できるノウハウを持った船会社は多くはなく、そこに石油やガ ス、オフショア・プロジェクトに上手く定着できた人たちというは 長い間その業界にいた人たちだ。新規参入者は取引の窓口を開くこ とができるが、その市場に参入するのは厳しいと思う。」 全く希望が無いわけではない 停滞期にもかかわらず、海運業界のすべてニュースが悪いニュ ースではない。再編はともかく、海運弁護士らはまた、自分たちの 紛争のケースが取り上げられているのを見た。「法的側面を見る と、事態は全ての産業で見通しが暗いように見えるかもしれない が、実際は好況を呈している。」とLeongは言う。「当事者たち がいる状況の困難さから主張を帳消しにするのは非常に困難であ り、法律的助言を得たり、再編したり、議論する機会が多くある。 下向きのサイクルは当然弁護士達に上昇期をもたらす。」 ラムは海運訴訟の面において紛争が増加していることに同意し た。「傭船者の採算の悪いチャーター契約の終了が弁護士達にとっ て主な仕事源となっており、ゆくゆく上昇期が来たときには、もっ

20

SHIPPING

However, Lam says this is not always the easiest move to make. “The offshore sector does not appear to be facing the same overcapacity issue at the moment. However, the cost for entry into the business is usually high, and it is not always easy to succeed,” he adds. Leong agrees: “It’s not only the shipping companies and banks, but we are also seeing insurance companies – that traditionally insured only classic shipping – moving into energy and offshore,” Leong says.

“However, not many shipping companies have the knowhow to go into these areas, and the guys that are well entrenched in oil and gas and offshore projects; they have been there for a long time. The newcomers can open up windows for themselves to trade, but I think it’s tough breaking into that market.”

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

the kind of work done by his firm. “There’s been a lot of new investment in offshore work since 2008, with plenty of rig building in particular,” he says. “Now, there is a lot of restructuring work going on, which is quite interesting. I predict a huge amount of recovery work in the future; it is slowly gathering momentum now.” He adds that he expects to see more restructuring and refinancing work in the future, which will be of a more sophisticated kind.

Meanwhile, van de Bospoort of DVB says that things have not been all bad for banks either. DVB is one of the few banks that are stepping up their lending instead of pulling out, and van de Bospoort says this is a result of reduced competition. “That means the terms and conditions under which we can finance are much better than a couple of years ago,” he says. “Asset values have come down tremendously for

NOT EVERYTHING IS GLOOMY Despite the downturn, it is not all bad news in the shipping industry.

Restructurers aside, shipping lawyers have also seen their disputes’ practice pick up. “While things may look bleak for the overall industry, on the legal side, (and I’m embarrassed to say) we are kept very busy,” says Leong. “Because of the difficulties that these parties are in, there’s bound to be a lot of opportunities for legal advice, restructuring and then disputes, because it’s just so difficult to write off claims.

Downward cycles naturally bring upturns for lawyers.”

Lam agrees that on the shipping litigation side, there has been an increase in disputes. “The exiting of unprofitable charter arrangements by charterers has been a major source of work for lawyers and one can expect, when the upturn eventually arrives, a similar spate with owners trying to rid themselves of low revenue charters in the hope they can capture something more lucrative,” he says. “Foreclosure work for banks has been a busy sector, although given vessel values, it is not an easy decision for a bank to make as they may get more out of keeping the client afloat than by pulling the plug and realising a limited return on their security.”

As for Grieveson, the move towards offshore has had an impact on

と何か儲かるものを捕まえたいと期待して今度は収益性の低いチャ ーターをやめようとする船舶所有者たちが続出する。」銀行にとっ て差し押さえの仕事は多忙なセクターであり、支援をやめたり有価 証券からの限られた運用益を実現する事より、顧客を破綻させずに 操業させることでもっと何かが得られるかもしれないので、船舶の 価値を与えられたとしても、銀行にとって差し押さえの決断は容易 ではない。 グリーブソンに関しては、オフショアに向けた動きは彼の所属 する会社により行われてきたようなタイプの仕事に影響があった。 「2008年以来、特に掘削装置がたくさん建設され 、オフショアの 仕事に多くの投資が行われてきた。」と彼は言う。「いまや、たく さんの再編が行われている。これは大変興味深い。私は将来、膨大 な量の復旧作業があるだろうと予測する。それは今、ゆっくりと勢 いを増している。」より洗練された種類のものであろうが、再編や 借り換えがもっと見られるだろうと彼は付け加える。 一方、DVBの バン·デ·ボスポートは、銀行にとってもすべてが 悪かったわけではないと言う。DVBは顧客から引き出すのではなく 融資を強化している数少ない銀行の一つである。バン·デ·ボスポー トはこれは市場競争が和らいだ結果だと言う。「これは、私達が資 金を調達できる取引条件は数年前に比べはるかによくなっていると 言うことを意味する。」と彼は言う。「資産価値は全てのセクター において暴落しており、それはつまり、最近は我々が融資する船舶 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

の60パーセントの資産価値は数年前のそれに比べはるかに少ない。 だから、新しい取引をするというのはいいことで、資金調達できる 取引条件は以前よりもはるかにいい。」 ある船会社による新造船の注文は興味深い発展であるとラムは 言う。「明らかに、彼らは新造船やより環境に優しくより燃料効率 の良い船のために常に安い価格を活用できるだけの資金を持ってい る。」と彼は言う。「まだ膨大な過剰生産能力があるときに大胆な 戦略だ。しかし、数年のうちに上昇期が来れば水上で最も費用対効 果がいい船隊なのだから間違いなく分け前を分配するだろう。」 適者生存

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all sectors, which means that nowadays, the 60 percent of a vessel that we finance is much less than what it was a couple of years ago.

So this is a good point to enter into new transactions, and the terms and conditions under which you can do finance are much better than they were.”

An interesting development, says Lam, is the new building orders placed by some shipping companies. “Obviously, they have the funding to take advantage of all time low prices for newbuilds, as well as sense to go for greener and more fuel efficient ships,” he says. “A bold strategy when there is still huge overcapacity, but one that will undoubtedly pay dividends if the upturn arrives in the next few years as their fleet will be the most cost effective on the water.”

Operator walks up stairs to Emma Maersk at Container Terminal 9 in Hong Kong. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

将来的に見ると、グリーブソンはもっと多くの企業が破産して いるだろうと見ている。「多くの人々がトン数を増やそうとするだ ろう。そして、一番トン数の大きいものは更に大きくなるだろう。 他の企業が再建されている間に一部の大企業は消滅するだろう。」 と彼は言う。「世界経済が回復し始めれば、それはアジア海運業界 のために、特にコンテナ業界でアジア間で操業するものにとってい いだろう。そして、オフショア市場は本当に持ち直すだろう。石油 ガスに対する膨大な需要がある。」 Clyde & Co’s のラムはそれは生き残りの戦いになるだろうと 考える。「現在の市場の状況で、船会社や貨物置場の一部は大きな 損失やキャッシュフローの増大の問題に直面している。もし現在の ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

SHIPPING

21

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Looking to the future, Grieveson sees more companies going bankrupt.

“A lot of people will be around to pick up the tonnage, and the biggest will grow bigger. Some big players will disappear, while others will be restructured,” he says. “When the global economic recovery starts, it’ll be good for Asian shipping, particularly those operating intra-Asia in the container business. And the offshore market will really pick up.

There’s huge demand for oil and gas.”

Clyde & Co’s Lam believes that it will be a battle to survive. “With the current market situation, some shipping companies and yards are facing huge losses and increasing cash flow problems. If the current downturn remains for some time, it may be difficult for some companies to survive. Those companies with a diversified business or with the support of their government will probably find themselves in a relatively better position to cope with the situation.”

Leong agrees that it has certainly become a case of “survival of the fittest” in the industry. “Companies with deep pockets, and companies with state entities backing them will stay afloat,” he says “Take for example, China’s Cosco: it has the state behind it. It will survive. For the others, we are not so sure.” He cites the example of the Malaysian national line MISC, which had to sell off portions of its fleet, effectively stripped itself of its container business. “They are doing tankers, they are doing bulkers, but they are no longer in the container industry,” says Leong. “We are seeing drastic things like this.”

Finally, Bazul Ashhab, the head of dispute resolution at Oon & Bazul, says that as in times like this, there will be market cleansing, with weaker players and those without solid reputation being forced out of the market. “However, this crisis is causing problems to even the reputable and serious players,” he says. “This effect of the crisis is likely to have a long and lasting effect in the industry. With cheaper vessels coming into the market, the ship owning companies who purchased vessels in 2008 will find it difficult to compete with rates in the foreseeable future, and I do not see the depressed market changing in the next few years.”

停滞期が一定期間続けば、一部の企業にとって生き残るのが困難に なるかもしれない。事業を多角化したり政府の援助を受けたりして いる企業はおそらく状況に対処するのに、自分たちが比較的有利な 立場にあることに気がつくだろう。」 Leongはこれは確実に業界の中で「適者生存」のケースになっ てしまっていることに同意する。「十分な資産のある会社と州政 府の援助を受けている会社は何とか生き残るであろう。」と彼は 言う。「例えば、シンガポールのNOLは州政府が後ろについてい る。NOLは生き残るだろう。他の会社は確信が持てない。彼は、事 実上コンテナ事業をはぎ取られ、船隊の一部を売却しなければなら ならなかったマレーシア国有海運会社MISCの例を挙げた。「彼ら はタンカーやバラ積み船をやっているが、もうコンテナ業界にはい ない。」とLeongは言う。「我々はこのような強烈なのを見てき ている。」 オーン＆バズール法律事務所の紛争解決部門の長、バズール・ アズハﾌﾞはこんなときには、零細企業や定評の無い企業は市場から 一掃されるだろうと言う。「しかし、この危機は評判のいい企業や プロフェッショナルな企業にも問題を引き起こしている。」と彼は 言う。「この危機は業界内でと凹面の間、持続的に影響するだろ う。」安い船が市場に入ってくれば、2008年に船を購入した船舶 を所有会社は近い将来価格で競合するのは困難になるだろうし、私 には停滞期にある市場が、今後数年間で変化するとは思えない。

22

offshore

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Offshore’s

big leap Offshore law firms are spreading their reach in Asia as they find a variety of sources of work capable of sustaining their long-term growth. With new offices and increased headcount in Singapore and Hong Kong, these firms are determined to make Asia their home, finds Raghavendra Verma

C

ould 2012 be the year that law firms made the big leap in Asia? Evidence certainly suggests so: Law firms with large established offshore practices like Appleby Global, Bedell Cristin, Maples and Calder, Ogier and Walkers have recently opened new Asian offices, and are preparing themselves for stiffer competition.

Many of these firms have been carrying out their practices out of their Hong Kong offices for several years, and are now starting operations in Singapore.

“We understand that a number of our competitors have plans to open offices here,” says John Rogers, managing partner of Walkers, which opened its Singapore office in 2009.

“Previously, we used to fly down from

Hong Kong four or five times a year,” says Rogers, who calls Walkers’ Singapore office growth “dramatic”. “Physical presence in Singapore is necessitated by its existing status as (the) legal and financial hub for the region.”

Stephen Adams, partner at Bedell Cristin, which started its Singapore operations in July, says that its decision is already paying off as there have been direct approaches from new clients.

For offshore law firms, physical presence is key. Adams says that the decision by many offshore law firms to open a Singapore office is, in fact, part of a defensive approach. “Many of their competitors were already located here and were speaking to their clients directly,” he says, while adding that for Bedell Cristin, Asia is a totally new market.

No doubt, then, that it is a compelling situation for the other offshore firms in Asia to invest in a new office.

In September, Cayman Islands-based Maples and Calder became the latest offshore firm in the Lion City. However to its credit, its approach was not just to react with a token presence. It relocated two

REUTERS/Tim Chong

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offshore partners, Nick Harrold and James Burch, and a corporate lawyer Tom Katsaros, to provide for a “full-service, full-execution office” in Singapore.

According to Harrold, the new office will provide Cayman Islands and BVI advice on hedge and mutual funds, private equity, structured and asset finance, corporate law and trusts for high net worth individuals.

Although Singapore has been the main focus destination for offshore law firms looking to expand their reach from Hong Kong, it has not been the only one. For instance, Ogier decided to first open an office in Shanghai, which it did in July 2011. However, the Singapore market still remains in its reckoning.

According to Nathan Powell, Hong Kongbased partner at Ogier, “that is something we always consider as we spend a lot of time in Singapore”.

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

ternational firms to service Chinese clients. As expected, they have been adapting to achieve the required level of client satisfaction. Not only do the offshore law firms hire legal professionals who are native Mandarin speakers, but they also keep their pricing flexible. “Some of the Asian clients can be pretty fee-sensitive,” says Powell.

Finding local lawyers well versed in offshore law can be a problem. So they are given in-house training by senior international lawyers posted in Asian centres. According to Woo, having offshore lawyers based in Asia also helps in the timely completion of the transactions. She also says that these days, it is not difficult to find lawyers willing to be stationed at Asian locations.

RELATIONSHIP WITH BIG FIRMS Offshore law firms are always aware that their role in any transaction is restricted to a secondary one in comparison to the main law firm.

This also makes them overwhelmingly dependent on onshore firms for getting business, especially in corporate transactions.

“Most of our work is sourced through large international law firms with whom we work on large transactional matters,” says Adams of Bedell Cristin.

The situation forces them to maintain a dual client focus – one on the main client who initiates the transaction, and the second on the partnering onshore law firm. “We do get direct instructions from underlying clients for the deals, “Most of our work is but the majority of our instructions come from offshore law sourced through large firms,” says Andy Randall, managing partner of Walkers’ international law firms with Hong Kong office.

The situation changes slightly once firms establish whom we work on large themselves in the region. “Many of our clients, including transactional matters.” multinationals and listed entities, are already using offshore Stephen Adams, Bedell Cristin vehicles, and they often contact us directly,” says Woo of Appleby, which has been present in Hong Kong for the last 25 years.

A direct relationship with clients may work in simpler transactions The increasing interest of these firms in like incorporations of holding companies. But for complex transacAsian markets can also been linked to stagtions, a local counsel is always part of the team. nant growth prospects in traditional centres.

As a result, they have to explore other finanSTREAMS OF WORK cial centres to gain extra growth and expanThe increase in business opportunities for offshore law firms is also sion. “If they wish to grow, they have to invest linked to the rising levels of investment in Asia. According to Rogers, in new regions, new offices and tapping into growing Asian economies are fuelling the demand for cross border new sources of work,” says Powell. investment. “There is going to be more use of offshore centres to facilitate that mobilisation of investment flow,” he says.

THE ASIAN MARKET The major investment activities in the region, according to Rogers, In Shanghai, Ogier’s small office with one lawyer are related to debt finance, equity investments in pre-IPO booking, is fully dedicated to business development in and project financing in India, Indonesia, and China. For dedicated China as it does not have the licence to practice offshore work, some lawyers depend upon the offshore companies law there. Powell says that offshore-related listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. work in mainland China includes IPOs in global According to Powell, in the last two years, fund formation has exchanges, pre-IPO investment, private equity, been a big source of work for offshore law firms in Asia. “A lot of individual investment and litigation advice in money has been created here, and more people want to invest their shareholder disputes. money,” he says.

China also has a growing appetite for overHowever, the situation is not the same with the IPO market, which seas investments for which its companies might according to Powell, is at the moment, slightly subdued due to the be utilising offshore structures, says Frances uncertainty in the global economy. However, pipeline enquiries have Woo, the managing partner of Appleby Global. not been significantly affected.

“Many of the vendors and the companies they The IPO market may well be an indication of a much bigger change, acquire are quite familiar with the offshore as according to Harrold, there has been a gradual shift of focus from structures,” she says. capital markets work to mergers and acquisitions. However, it did not However, due to language and cultural affect Maples’ overall workload as offshore structures are applicable reasons, it is not very straightforward for in-

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26

in both types of transactions, he says.

In fact, the applicability of offshore structures is even wider. According to Woo, most of the multinationals intending to start operations in Asia would invariably be looking for neutral jurisdictions that could provide flexibility, and are familiar to them.

She also says that with the rise of the Indonesian and Malaysian economies, more work has been created for offshore law firms, including transactions related to sovereign wealth funds.

Furthermore, offshore vehicles are also preferred over local companies for simple and cost- sensitive operations like ownership of property. The requirement of hiring an auditor and cumbersome statutory filings for companies incorporated in Hong Kong, for example, makes them expensive to operate, says Woo. Offshore centres also attract Asian clients who are interested in private trusts, wealth planning, and asset protection. “Most of the trusts created for the personal wealth management of their high net worth clients involve sophisticated corporate structures based in BVI, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Jersey,” says Marcus Dearle, managing partner of Withers Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Business is very strong, and we expect it to

continue to grow.”

In developed Asian economies, markets have become more sophisticated, structured, and efficient. However, huge disparities still exist between other economies. “Different parts of the region appear to be in a different part of the economic evolutionary cycle,” says Randall, “Offshore structures applied to Mongolian deals today are the same that we have implemented 15 years ago in China, or five years ago in Vietnam.”

However, the legal and regulatory disparities in different countries in the region have a hand in the promotion of offshore structures.

According to Woo, these disparities make it imperative for the businesses to use corporate structures that are based in neutral jurisdictions. “For the companies involving in cross border transactions, offshore structures reduce the level of complexity,” she says.

CHOICE WITHIN OFFSHORE CENTRES The Cayman Islands and BVI remain the most popular offshore financial centres for clients in Asia. Highlighting their advantages, Harrold says that both of them have creditor and investor-friendly legal systems, which are based on English common law and offer a stable political environment with adherence to international regulatory standards. They are also tax-neutral jurisdictions, not dependent on any double-tax treaties.

According to Woo, Cayman Islands-based vehicles are recognised by the United States and the European Union for listing on their stock exchanges, which facilitates a lot of the cross border deals.

Courts in these jurisdictions are also highly efficient, says Powell, and there are number of advisers in the region with expertise in these jurisdictions.

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28

offshore

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

“As clients in Asia become more familiar with the advantages of using offshore solutions, the use of such structures will become more prevalent.”

Nick Harrold, Maples and Calder Occasionally, lawyers often choose more than one offshore destination, as seen recently in a deal undertaken by Appleby. Woo says that it used three offshore vehicles in one deal involving a Nasdaq-listed budget hotel group, which had most of its assets in Asia.

Appleby acted on behalf of JP Morgan and Credit Suisse, who were the arrangers for various investment banks that raised the money for the hotel company. The hospitality group was a Cayman Islands-registered entity that utilised BVI and Mauritius vehicles to manage its assets in China and India. “If they had not

set up such a structure, it would have been quite difficult to manage the cross border holdings within Asia,” says Woo. In some cases, for complex corporate structures, law firms often advise the use of BVI companies to act as holding and financing vehicles.

While Cayman Islands companies are regularly used as listing vehicles on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the practice has also been seen recently on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, says Harrold. For hedge funds, private equity funds, and unit trusts, Cayman Islands-based vehicles are the favourites, he says.

Some offshore locations are specifically linked to various Asian jurisdictions. Woo says that due to strong and beneficial double tax treaties, Seychelles-based vehicles are the first choice for investments in Indonesia. The same is the case with Mauritius, India, and several African nations.

However, says Woo, the choice of specific offshore locations for Asian ventures still depends upon the structure and the purpose a company wants to achieve. If a company intends to reduce its share capital at some point of time in the future, then the Caymans is not a suitable destination as it mandates a court procedure, whereas Bermuda or BVI law requires only shareholder approval to effect the change.

There is certainly no shortage of offshore solutions, and it is only the requirement and willingness to apply them that matters. Harrold is quite hopeful and says: “As clients in Asia become more familiar with the advantages of using offshore solutions, the use of such structures will become more prevalent.”

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30

philippines report

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

フィリピンにお ける権力闘争

REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

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philippines report

31

DESPITE AN ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSING YEAR, THE PHILIPPINES HAS REMAINED A FAVOURITE OF ASTUTE AND DISCERNING INVESTORS, GIVEN ITS BOOMING ECONOMY, WEALTH OF ENERGY RESOURCES, AND THE GOVERNMENT’S FIRM STEPS TO ATTRACT GROWTH. EVEN AN INTERNATIONAL PALAVER WITH CHINA OVER CONTESTED OIL AND GAS BLOCKS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA HAS NOT DIMMED THE MAJORITY OF INVESTORS’ APPETITES, AS THE MINING AND RENEWABLES SECTORS HEAT UP CONSIDERABLY WITH SEVERAL NEW LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS. SEHER HUSSAIN REPORTS

I

n the last year alone, the positive indicators for the Philippines economy have been extraordinary; Moody’s raised its outlook to positive once the nation’s top judge was removed for corruption and Standard & Poor’s followed by boosting the foreign currencydenominated debt rating to the highest level since 2003. Overall, the $225 billion economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the fastest expansion since 2010, and the peso is now officially considered the best performer against the U.S. dollar among Asia’s most traded currencies this year.

Often overshadowed by Southeast Asian media darlings, Indonesia and Vietnam, the Philippines is finally having its moment in the sun.

“I’ve had more inquiries this year about the Philippines than I have had at any other time in the last five years,” says Ben Smith, partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, a sentiment that was echoed by several sources.

Underpinning much of this positive development is President Benigno Aquino’s firm steering of the economy through several initiatives to improve governance and transparency. From announcing the selling of stakes in several gold, copper and nickel mines to attempt-

ing to reconcile local and national mining policies to jumpstarting a flagging renewables sector through feed-in tariffs, the administration has made investment into the energy industry a priority.

Although several of the announced developments have left investors and lawyers in a wait-and-see mode for now, overall, the general consensus is positive. Patricia Tan Openshaw, a Hong Kong-based partner at Paul Hastings attests that: “This government is actively taking steps to promote investment, not just by domestic, but also by foreign investors.”

A LIQUID SOLUTION Law firms, both international and local, have seen a flurry of activity in the energy and project development sectors with several headline deals, including domestic corporation First Gen’s 40 percent buyout of British Gas’ stakes in natural gas facilities as well as Total’s recent purchase of an offshore oil and gas bloc from Mitra Energy.

Fundamental to this increase in work, especially for local firms, is the growing liquidity, strength and sophistication of the domestic

今年経済的は低迷していますが、好景気や豊富な天然資源、景気成長を達成する ための政府による確固たる対策などを鑑み、フィリピンは依然として洞察力があ り目利きのある投資家の注目国です。新たに立法面で進展がいくつか見られたこ とに伴い、鉱業および再生可能資源セクターが大きく注目されており、南シナ海 での原油・ガス鉱区を巡る中国との国際的な紛争があるにもかかわらず大半の投 資家は投資意欲を失っていません。Seher Hussainが報告します。

昨

年だけでもフィリピン経済には非常に明るい指標が 相次ぎました。フィリピン最高裁判事が汚職のため 罷免されるとムーディーズが格付け見通しをポジテ ィブに引き上げ、その後S&Pが外貨建て債務格付け を2003年来最高水準に引き上げました。全体の経済規模が2,250億 ドルのフィリピンは、第1四半期に2010年以来最速となる6.4%の 経済成長を達成し、今年フィリピン・ペソは大半のアジア通貨の中 で、対米ドルで最もパフォーマンスの高い通貨であると公に考えら れています。 東南アジアのなかでメディアの人気の的となっているインドネ シアやベトナムより影が薄くなることが多いものの、フィリピンに は非常に妙味があります。「フィリピンについて、今年は過去5年 間で最も多く問い合わせをいただいています」と、Fulbright & JaworskiのBen Smithパートナーは言いますが、こうしたフレ ーズはいくつかの情報筋でも聞かれます。 こうした明るい材料の大半は、ベニグノ・アキノ大統領による ガバナンスと透明性向上の取組みを通じた経済安定化の舵取りが奏 功したことによるものです。金、銅およびニッケル鉱山の持ち分売 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

却の発表から、低迷する再生資源セクターを、固定価格買取制度を 通じて活性化させるための地方と国の採掘方針の調整といった取組 みに至るまで、現政権はエネルギー業界に対して優先的に投資を行 っています。 発表済みの展開のいくつかについて、投資家および弁護士は当 面様子見姿勢を取っていますが、総じてコンセンサスは前向きで す。Paul Hastings のパートナー、Patricia Openshaw氏は 「政府について評価できる点としては、国内のみならず外人投資家 の投資促進のための法律改正など必要なことは何でも行うという政 治的意図が明らかだということです」と語ります。 流動性によるソリューション 国際および国内の弁護士事務所は、エネルギーおよびプロジェ クト開発セクターで相次ぐ活動を目の当たりにしており、重大な取 引としては国内企業ファースト・ジェンによるブリティッシュ・ガ スの天然ガス施設に対する持ち分の40％取得や、トタルによるミト ラ・エナジーからのオフショア原油・ガス鉱区の買収などが挙げら れます。

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philippines report

commercial banks. Similar to trends noted in Thailand and Malaysia, domestic banks are increasingly well capitalised - thanks to a steady flow of $1.6 billion in monthly remittances from outside the country - well positioned, and extremely competitive, leading on many of the issuances that would traditionally have been handled by international and consortium banks.

“If a deal is relatively straightforward, and if the banks financing it are composed entirely of domestic institutions, they may be most comfortable choosing Filipino law to govern the documentation,” says Joseph Bevash, partner at Latham & Watkins, “and in that case they may not actually need international counsel. The more complicated the deal is, the larger the deal is and if it involves multisource financing, then of course we get in there.”

Openshaw agrees, saying: “In terms of the financing, because Philippine banks are very liquid, they have been able to fill the gap left by the foreign banks in financing energy projects.” What this translates to, in terms of legal work, is that deals that are primarily local bank-financed, tend to have local law firms on board, growing their workload

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

PHILIPPINES PETROLEUM SERVICE CONTRACTS Up for Auction July 31, 2012 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5

KEY AREA 1

Philippine energy contracting round - petroleum areas Up for auction

China claims Areas 3 and 4 are part of its territory, but the Philippines asserts these are within its jurisdiction AREA 2

PHILIPPINE SEA

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA

AREA 3 AREA 5 Sampaguita project*

AREA 6

AREA 4

ARE EA 7 AREA

SC 72

AREA 8

AREA 13

AREA 9

AREA 10 SULU SEA AREA 11

AREA 14

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

AREA 12 A AREA 15 13/06/11

こうした業務、とりわけ現地の弁護士 事務所に対する業務拡大の根底には、国 内商業銀行の流動性増加や健全性向上、 洗練性の上昇があります。タイやマレー シアで同様の傾向が見られるように、海 外から毎月16億ドルの資金が安定的に流 入しているため国内銀行の自己資本がま すます厚みを増しており、これまで外国 銀行やシンジケート団が扱っていた数多 くの起債案件の主幹事を務める立場にな り、著しく競争力が高まっています。「 比較的に単純な案件で、資金調達する銀行 団がすべて国内行で構成されれば、書類作 成上フィリピン法を採択するのが最適でし ょう。その場合、実質的に海外の弁護士事 務所は不要です。もちろん、案件が複雑 に、また大規模になり、資金調達先が複数 にわたれば、海外の弁護士事務所が関与し ます」とLatham&Watkinsのパートナ ー、Joseph Bevash氏は語ります。 Openshaw氏はこれに同意するととも に、以下の様に述べています。「資金調達 という点でフィリピンの銀行の流動性は非 常に高く、フィリピンの銀行は実質的に外 国銀行と互角に戦えます。法的業務の側面 から見れば、フィリピンにおいて外国銀行 が扱う案件数が市場シェアでみた場合小さ いように、純粋な国内行の調達案件では現 地法を採択することから外国の弁護士事務 所が扱う案件も少なくなります。国際弁護

*Service contract area owned by Philex Petroleum that sparked renewed tensions between China and the Philippines in March 2011 Source: Philippine Department of Energy Reuters graphic/Catherine Trevethan 31/07/12

Note: Not to scale, map is for reference only

士事務所が忙しくないのは言うまでもなく、これまでは国内行が真 の調達先とはなりえなかったこうしたエネルギー・プロジェクトに 対しても、資金を提供しているのです。」 「アクセルを踏む（ガスおよび原油）」 液化天然ガス(LNG)に対する需要は、アジア全体でかつてないほ ど高まっています。日本が急速に原子力発電からガス火力発電へと 移行するにつれて、日本は韓国を抜き世界最大のLNG消費国となっ ています。両国とも長期的なLNG供給に対する投資と確保を熱心に 目指しており、市場で激しく競い合っています。法律事務所には原 油およびガス関連業務が安定的に舞い込んでおり、現在最大の開発 案件は、シェル、シェブロンおよび国内企業が関与するマランパヤ 天然ガスプロジェクトで、ガス埋蔵量は2兆7,000億立法フィート超 と見積られています。 しかしながら、最大の話題は南シナ海沖で繰り広げられている フィリピンと中国の紛争で、両国が収益性の高い海底埋蔵物を利用 しようと競っていることから、この地域はアジア最大の軍事衝突場 所になる可能性があります。これは市場にどのような影響を与える のでしょうか？紛争地域に関して言えば、弁護士は当然のことなが ら投資家に近寄らないよう警告しています。政府は最近この紛争地 域の鉱区の入札を行いましたが、国際的な原油・ガスのメジャー企

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significantly. As a result, sources of funding for these energy projects are growing, when previously local banks were not seen as a viable option in the market.

‘STEP ON THE GAS’ (AND OIL) Across Asia, demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has never been higher. As Japan quickly shifts away from nuclear power generation, replacing its nuclear generation capacity with gas-fired generation capacity, it has become the biggest worldwide consumer of LNG, followed by Korea. Both nations are hungrily looking to invest and secure long-term purchases of LNG, rendering the market hotly competitive.

Firms have seen a steady stream of oil and gas work, with massive current developments including the Malampaya natural gas project, estimated to hold over 2.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, which involves Shell, Chevron and national corporations.

The biggest headlines, however, deal with the Philippines and China’s feud over contested offshore areas, which may turn out to be Asia’s biggest military flashpoint as both countries race to tap lucrative underwater reserves. What does this mean for the marketplace? When it comes to the areas in dispute, lawyers report that understandably, investors have stayed away. The government has recently auctioned off blocs in the contested areas, but international oil and gas majors have refrained from purchasing, with the tenders going to domestic companies.

However, the Philippines is rich in offshore LNG and oil reserves, and waters that are comfortably within its sovereign boundaries continue to attract investor interest. Smith details, saying: “The companies involved in upstream projects tend to be the smaller independents that have few producing assets. So as a result, they are going for the lower hanging fruit; the fields that they have identified from seismic in the shallow water and the cheaper fields to exploit. And typically, the fields that one is likely to get into trouble with regarding boundary disputes tend to be in deeper water. It’s not an issue that has come to

業は入札を差し控えたため、購入者は国内企業となりました。 フィリピン沖のLNGと原油埋蔵量は豊富で、その海域が国境内 にあることから投資家の関心が引き続き高まっています。Smith 氏によれば、「川上プロジェクトに関与する企業はほとんど生産設 備をもたない小規模独立企業で、こうした企業は簡単に達成できる 事業、すなわち浅瀬にある開発コストの安い地震帯から特定した埋 蔵地を重視しています。また境界線を巡り紛争が付きものの埋蔵地 は、通常より深海地域に存在する傾向にあります。ただしこれは健 在化している問題点ではありません。なぜならばみなフィリピン沖 に注目しているからです」。 Sycip SalazarのパートナーであるHector de Leon氏は この意見に同意すると共に、以下の様に述べています。「実のとこ ろ、このセクター関連の業務は減っていません。これは政府との間 で紛争地域以外の調査サービス契約が多数あるからです。紛争地域 は懸念材料ですが、それ以外の地域については引き続き積極的な関 心が向けられています。」 Openshaw氏は「大規模な原油およびガス企業は、特にガス 埋蔵地の開発や埋蔵量調査の予備段階の場合、多くの業務を社内で 行います。しかし、我々に新規問い合わせが増えているということ は、明らかにオフショア市場に興味のある投資家や外国企業が増え ているという素晴らしい兆候なのです」と述べています。 ただし、フィリピンでは開発を迅速に勧めることが難しいた め、世界市場における競争という点において、有望な投資先として は投資家の優先順位が潜在的に低いのです。特にガス埋蔵地につい てはリスク管理の目的から長期的な開発が必要であることから、新 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

philippines report

33

a head yet because people are staying close to the Philippine coast.”

Hector de Leon, partner at SyCipLaw, agrees, saying: “We have not really seen a drop off in work in respect to that sector. There are many service contacts with the government over areas that are not disputed; while there might be concerns over areas that are being contested, there is continued and active interest over other areas.”

Openshaw agrees, revealing that: “The nature of the business is such that the big oil and gas companies do a lot of legal work in-house, especially in the preliminary stages of exploration and development.”

Once that work is completed, lawyers note that they continue to receive a healthy amount of inquiries from clients that are interested in the offshore market.

However, the competitiveness of the global market means that the Philippines could potentially be placed quite low on investors’ lists of favourable destinations, given that any quick development is unlikely.

Gas fields, in particular, are long-term developments that are aimed at managing risk. So any additional new risk, especially that of political or military nature, could see investors rushing to develop other reserves first. Bevash confirms that: “The more straightforward conventional gas production resources in Western Australia are being accelerated very quickly to be developed and satisfy some of this Japanese and Korean demand. Similarly, non-traditional gas resources in America are also being rushed to market because they are based in stable jurisdictions and the price is very favourable.”

Dennis Quintero, partner at Quisumbing Torres, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie, further highlights the risk associated with offshore work: “If it will be a deep sea exploration, it’s going to be more costly for the contractor. It affects the attractiveness of the Philippines as far as oil and gas exploration is concerned.”

DIGGING DEEP Not one to be left out of the worldwide mining boom, the Philippines has also taken steps to boost investment and stabilise the sector,

たなリスク（特に政治的または軍事的リスク）が加われば、投資家 が別の埋蔵地の開発を先に進める可能性があります。Bevash氏は 「西オーストラリアのほうが簡潔で従来型のガス生産施設であり、 資源開発が迅速に進んでいるため、日本や韓国の需要を満たすこと ができます。同様に、アメリカにおける従来とは異なるガス資源に 対しても、アメリカという国が安定しており価格が非常に魅力的で あることから市場の注目が集まっています」と語ります。 Baker & McKinzieのメンバー企業であるQuisumbing TorresのDennis Quintero氏はさらに以下の点を強調してい ます。「深海開発の場合、請負業者の負担が大きくなり、原油・ガ ス開発に関する限りフィリピンの魅力に影響を与えます。これによ り、潜在的な投資家が特定の地域への投資に二の足を踏むかもしれ ません。」 深く掘り下げる フィリピンも世界的な採掘ブームに乗り、8,400億ドルとも言わ れるこのセクターへの投資加速と安定化のための対策を打ち出しま した。アキノ大統領は、外国からの投資を促進するために、金、銅 およびニッケル鉱山の政府持ち分を売却する意向を最近発表しまし た。Bevash氏は、「戦略的鉱山の一部または全部の民営化を政府 が推し進める限りにおいて、こうした鉱山投資に対して株式または 融資による参加など海外から極めて多くの関心が寄せられることが 予想されます」と、報告しています。しかしながらDe Leon氏は 「どの鉱山が対象となるか、また個々のバリュエーションはどの程 度になるか」については今のところあまり明らかになっていないと

34

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

reportedly worth up to $840 billion. Aquino recently announced that the government will sell stakes in gold, copper and nickel mines, in an attempt to push foreign investment. On his part, Bevash reports that: “To the extent that the government is willing to privatise some or all of its assets in strategic minerals, I would expect there to be quite a lot of interest internationally by equity participants and lenders in investing in these mining assets.”De Leon points out, however, that at the moment, there isn’t much clarity as to “which mines these even are, and as to what their respective valuations are.”

Eclipsing this announcement, however, was the ongoing moratorium that the government has announced on mining projects. Mining firms want the Philippines to lift the 18-month moratorium on new projects. However, lawmakers need to first approve new legislation on mineral revenues. “The Philippines administration has been questioning whether the country is achieving a sufficient level of return from the exploitation of its national assets in the mining and metals space,” says Mark Plenderleith, partner at Freshfields, “for the industry to move forward, financial investors will need clarity as to the form and level of return it expects as a stakeholder in the industry at both the national and local level.” The administration’s announcement is an opportune one as worldwide; nations with mining wealth are already in the process of revaluating their stakes in national assets,

with Mongolia, Argentina and Indonesia being several recent examples.

Sources point out that historically, mining-rich nations have wanted to attract investment and kept taxes and royalties off these mineral assets low. However, once they emerge as lucrative investment destinations for international players, many governments decide to re-evaluate their national stake in these mines.

Peter Pacheco, partner at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles, agrees, further detailing that: “The government has issued a new mining circular which essentially stops all production activities, and only allows for exploration work to continue. The objec-

指摘しています。 しかし採掘プロジェクトに関してモラ トリアムが続いているとの政府発表によ り、こうした好材料の効果が薄らいでいま す。採掘企業はフィリピン政府に対して、 新規プロジェクトについて18ヶ月のモラ トリアム期間の解除を求めていますが、議 会は鉱物収入に関する新法承認が先に必要 だという立場を崩していません。「フィリ ピンは鉱業セクターにおける国の持ち分が 十分かどうか再考したいと考えています」 と、Freshfieldsのパートナー、Mark Plenderleith氏は言います。「そのた め、資源の放出や民間開発業者による国の 資源の引受や開発を可能とした場合、財務 リターンのストラクチャーが十分か否かに ついて懸念が浮上しています。」 こうした政府発表は世界的に見れば好都 合です。採掘資源国は国家資産に対する国 の持ち分を再評価中であり、モンゴル、ア ルゼンチンおよびインドネシアがこうした 最近の例として挙げられます。情報源によ れば、従来鉱物資源の豊かな国は投資を誘 致するために、こうした鉱山資源に対する 税金や特許使用料を低く抑えています。し

かしながら、一旦海外投資家が収益性の高い投資先として識別する と、多くの政府がこうした鉱山に対する国の持ち分を再評価するの です。 Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De los AngelesのパートナーであるPeter Pacheco氏 はこの意見に 同意し、以下の様に詳しく述べています。「政府は、原則としてす べての生産活動を停止させて、開発活動のみ継続できる新しい採掘 通達を発行しました。この通達の目的は採掘収入の持ち分を増やす ことです。というのも、現在政府には生産総額に対して2％の消費 税しか受け取る権利がないためです。この数値はより多くの採掘権 を有する他の国と比べると低いと政府は感じています。」 実のところ1995年採掘法に基づき、外国企業は2%の消費税以 外、所得税も輸出税も通常支払っていません。税金が自己申告に基 づく生産量に基づき決定されていることも、現行の採掘法の再考を 促す世論が高まっていることもう一つの理由なのです。 こうしたことは、既存および新たなプロジェクトにどのような 影響を与えるのでしょうか？おそらく議会が国の保有分を再考する 間、採掘許可が中断され、今後5年間120億ドルに上る新規投資計 画が一時中止に追い込まれると見られます。こうしたプロジェクト には、グローバル採掘会社エクストラ－タ・ピーエルシーとオース トラリアのインドフィル・リソーシス・エヌエルによる、フィリピ ン南部における東南アジア最大の未開発銅・金鉱山である59億ドル のタンパカン・プロジェクトが含まれます。 Pacheco氏はさらに「既存プロジェクトについては、投資家 の権利に関する限り、政府は常に契約を尊重します。したがって、

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

A miner displays a gold chip at a buying station in Mt. Diwalwal Monkayo town. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

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tive is for it to get a bigger share of mining revenues, because at the moment, for a concession, it is entitled to only 2 percent excise tax on gross. The government feels that is on the low side when compared to other jurisdictions that receive more from mining concessions.”

In fact, under the 1995 mining law, besides the 2 percent excise tax, foreign companies typically pay no income or export tax. Taxes are determined by self-reported production figures, another reason why there is public sentiment to reconsider the current mining regulations.

What effect would this have on projects, both ongoing and new?

It is likely that while Congress reconsiders the national stake, mining permits will stall, pausing up to $12 billion in new investments planned over the next five years. Those include Southeast Asia’s biggest undeveloped copper-gold mine, the $5.9 billion Tampakan project by global miner Xstrata Plc and Australia’s Indophil Resources NL in the south of the country.

Pacheco details that: “For existing projects, the government always respects contracts, as far as investors’ rights so there won’t be any mandatory renegotiations. But of course, there can be voluntary ones.

But for new ones, that’s where the government is hoping to increase its share.” Market sentiment agrees that major mining players would be open to renegotiations in the government’s stake but that resistance would be most likely found amongst the smaller to medium-sized mining corporations.

However, lawyers generally agree with Plenderleith, who says: “It raises a question in international investors’ minds, particularly the international finance community, when the government says they want to have an open debate on this. Investors wonder if the debate will spread, now or during the lifetime of their proposed investments, to other aspects of the Philippine energy and natural resource sectors.”

At the time of print, the mining regulations had not been announced, leaving de Leon saying: “Right now, there is no clarity as to what will be the fiscal regime applicable to mining contracts. Investors will likely adopt a wait-and-see attitude. On the other hand, there will also be those investors who will have a bigger appetite for risk, and

who will probably continue looking for mining project investments.”

A more local, but equally as significant, fracas is that of open-pit mining, which is being waged on a regional versus national level.

At the centre of the dispute is the $5.9 billion copper-gold mine, the Tampakan project, located in Mindanao, which is potentially the biggest mining project in the Philippines and the fifth-largest worldwide.

It is estimated to have 15 million tonnes of copper and almost 18 million ounces of gold.

Sources report that at the local level, open-pit mining has been blocked by a provincial ban, one of the project’s major obstacles.

The national government is now at loggerheads with the provincial government to reassess this decision. Recently, Swiss mining giant Xstratra, the operator of the mine, has announced that the start of production will be pushed back by two years to 2018, after its application for an environmental permit was rejected. Essentially, the problem arises from the fact that part of the project lies in the South Cotabato province, where a provincial regulation prohibiting openpit mining conflicts with a national regulation that allows it. Market sources indicate that investors are waiting eagerly to see how this battle between the local and national governments will be resolved, as it will be a key indicator for future projects.

The current state of play is that, overall, the government’s announcements to move the mining industry forward and promote investment are offset by these two issues - the reconsideration of its national return on these assets, as well as the local versus national issue of regulations. Openshaw sums up the situation by saying: “ [On large scale energy and PPP projects], the government needs to take more concrete steps to give the private sector investors comfort on the regulatory and political risks - including more clarity on the rules and the implementation process as well as providing assurance that the laws will not change midstream.”

The internal security situation is another decisive consideration when it comes to the expansion of the mining sector in the Philippines, and one that investors are watching intently. Reuters reports that

強制的に再交渉は行いませんが、もちろん任意による再交渉は可能 です。しかし、新規契約については、政府持ち分の引き上げを望ん でいます」と述べています。市場では、主要な採掘企業は政府持ち 分の再交渉に応じる用意があるものの、中小採掘企業の間ではおそ らく抵抗が見られるという意見で一致しています。 しかしながら、弁護士は総じてPlenderleith氏の意見に同感 で、「海外投資家は、別の疑問を抱いています。つまり、少なくと も金融面から、政府がこの持ち分問題について忌憚ない意見を求め る場合、これが既存エクスポージャーにどういった意味があり、将 来の株式案件にどう影響するか、と投資家は考えるのです」と、語 ります。 この記事の発行時点で採掘規制は発表されておらず、「現在ど ういった財務体制が採掘契約に適用されるかについては明確であり ません。したがって、投資家は様子見姿勢を取るとみられます。一 方、リスク選好がより大きい投資家や、引き続き採掘プロジェクト への投資を模索する投資家もいると思われます。」 さらに地方に関して言えば同様に重要なことですが、露天採掘 を巡るトラブルが発生しており、これは地方レベル対国家レベルで 起こっています。ミンダナオ島にある59億ドルの銅・金鉱山である タンパカン・プロジェクトが紛争の中心ですが、おそらくこれはフ ィリピンで最大、また世界でも5番目に大きな採掘プロジェクトで す。埋蔵量は、銅1,500万トン、金1,800万オンスと見積られていま す。 情報源によれば、地方では露天採掘が州法により禁止されてお り、これがこのプロジェクト最大の障害の一つとなっています。フ

ィリピン国政府は現在、この判断の再評価をめぐり州政府と対立し ています。スイス採掘大手であり鉱山運営会社のエクストラ－タが 最近、環境認可申請が却下されたため生産開始を2年遅らせて2018 年にすると発表しました。この問題の根源は、プロジェクトの一部 が、国の規制では認められている露天採掘が州規制により禁止され ている南カタバト州に及ぶものであることから生じています。 「投資家はこの進展を見守っており、国と地方政府間で紛争が 将来にとっての重要な指標なのです」とPlenderleith氏は語っ ています。 現在、鉱業の発展と投資促進という政府政策が、こうした資源 に対する国家リターンの再考と規制を巡る地方と国との対立という 2つの問題によって相殺された状態にあります。Openshaw氏は この状況を要約して、「外国人投資家が何を期待でき、実際制約は どのようなものかという点について、彼らにもう少し安心感を与え られるよう、政府には規制面でなすべきこと多くあり、また外国人 投資家に対して法律を途中で変えないという保証を与える必要があ ります」と述べています。 フィリピン国内の安全性は、同国における鉱業セクターの拡大 や投資家が注視しているもう一つの決定的な検討事項として挙げら れます。ロイターによれば、200名の毛沢東主義者によるゲリラが 南方ミンダナオ諸島の3つの民間プロジェクトを襲撃し、約7,000万 ドル相当の設備を破壊し、今年初めにさらに攻撃をすると脅迫して います。政府は目下こうした反乱軍との対話を進めていますが、進 捗は緩やかです。フィリピン軍は兵力に欠けるため、軍は採掘企業 に事業防衛のため民間兵を雇うよう要請しています。インタビュー

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philippines report

around 200 Maoist guerrillas attacked three private mining projects on the southern island of Mindanao, destroying equipment worth around $70 million, and threatening more attacks earlier this year. The government is currently in talks with these rebel groups, but progress is slow. The Philippine army has said it lacks the resources, and so has asked mining firms to hire private militias to guard their businesses. Sources interviewed say that this is a significant developing story that many are keeping a close eye on.

Taking a big picture view, there is one final factor that affects the market, and that is the slowdown in China. As its need for resources grows sluggishly, the urgency in developing and expanding existing reserves also dims.

Interviewees’ note that before the race to explore, mine and finish facilities was fuelled

した人によれば、これには多くの人が注視 しており、重大な進行中の話なのです。 全体として見ると、市場に影響を与える 最後の要因は中国の景気減速です。天然資 源に対するニーズが緩慢になれば、既存埋 蔵地の開発や拡大の緊急性もまた低下しま す。インタビューした人によれば、以前は 中国の果てなき需要に支えられ、設備の開 発、採掘および完成を急いでいましたが、 今状況はさほど熱狂的ではありません。投 資家にはプロジェクトをより選択、考慮 し、期待値を管理し、市場を評価する時間 があります。 こうしたことをすべて踏まえPecheco 氏は「既存案件について、事業は通常通り

by China’s seemingly unending appetite, but now the situation is not as frantic. Investors have time to consider their projects more selectively, manage their expectations, and assess the market.

Given all this, Pacheco finds that: “We are in a wait and see pattern for new investors, while for the existing ones, it is business in usual.” Only time will tell how this will play out. However, the general consensus in the marketplace is positive and optimistic that the right steps are being taken to ensure a consistent stream of investment and development in the mining sector.

HERE COMES THE SUN Critical breaking news in this industry are the recent feed-in tariffs announced by the Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for renewable energy. After a protracted process, first started in 2008 and plagued by government indecision and opposition from influential special-interest groups, the announced rates cover wind, solar, hydro, and biomass projects. Of import to the marketplace is that the rates announced are lower than those that were recommended by the National Renewable Energy Board. The lower-than-expected rates

進んでいるものの、新規投資家に対しては様子見姿勢です」と言い ます。これがどうなるかは時が経てばわかりますが、市場における 一般的なコンセンサスは、鉱業セクターにおいて投資や開発の一貫 した流れを確保するために正しい手段が講じられているという前向 きで楽観的なものです。 日は昇る 業界に関する重要なニュースは、フィリピンエネルギー規制委 員会(ERC)が再生可能エネルギーの固定価格買取制度を最近発表し たことです。2008年に始まり、その後政府の優柔不断な姿勢や影 響力のある特別利益団体からの反対にだらだらと苦しめられました が、風力、太陽光、水力およびバイオマスのプロジェクトに対して 固定買取価格が適用されることになりました。市場にとって重要な のは、発表された固定買取価格が国家再生可能エネルギー委員会の 推奨価格よりも低いということです。予想より固定買取価格が低い

A resident collects pieces of wood washed ashore by strong waves, in front of wind turbines, in Bangui. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS OCTOBER 2012

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37

are meant to soften the impact of the incentive system on electricity rates, while attracting investments in the renewables sector.

Bevash relates that: “Renewable energy is our hottest market and the Philippines are blessed with abundant resources. This is just another positive step the government is taking to normalise the process for development and financing of new power projects to secure its own long-term needs for dependable and renewable energy.” According to a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund, the country has the potential to develop 1200MW of geothermal capacity, 2308MW of sustainable hydro, 235MW of biomass, and 7404MW of wind power capacity over the next 10 years.

Smith posits that: “The Philippines doesn’t have much in the way of possible fuel resources. But it does have a lot of sunshine, good wind, and excellent geothermal reserves. In terms of biomass as well, a lot of the agricultural practices work very well with those projects, such as the sugar cane industry. So renewable energy makes sense.”

Hydro projects have proven to be capital intensive. However once set up, they are lucrative. “Investors in the hydro space have a great track record in the Philippines, however in terms of its use in the power mix, droughts and issues with capacity storage periodically cause challenges in regions such as Mindanao where there is a large exposure to hydro capacity,” reports Plenderleith, continuing that, “It is pleasing to see that long-term investors in the Philippines such as Marubeni Corp., of Japan, are continuing to invest in the domestic energy and infrastructure market. International and domestic investors, mostly those with existing power assets in the country, continue to explore opportunities”.

Taking a quick glance at solar and wind illustrates similar trends.

Bevash points out that, “solar will become increasingly profitable and attractive as the solar intake panels come down in price, so these projects are definitely on a curve that is increasing in popularity because of the dramatically lower capital expenditures associated with these projects.” Wind is also a progressively popular form of energy production, as it is complementary to other forms of electricity generation. “If the wind is blowing in the middle of the day when electricity demand is highest, then wind is a very attractive peaking source of power,” continues Bevash.

However, now that the tariffs have been released, lawyers have cautious views as to how these will affect the market. “These tariffs

alone do not solve the regulatory framework for renewable energy,” asserts Angel Salita, partner at SyCipLaw, “and there are still obstacles that need to be faced. For example, how do you allocate the 760 megawatts that have been set aside for renewable energy?

How do you implement and collect these tariffs from a developer’s standpoint?” He continues that while the approval of the feed-in tariffs is a major step in jumpstarting the sector, the fact is that the devil will be in the detail, and investors are warily waiting for those specifics.

Pacheco continues that: “A year ago, we had a lot of interest in renewable energy; we were doing work especially in wind and hydro projects. Then when the issue of the feed-in tariffs arose, there was a lull in the projects.

Most were put on hold pending the outcome of the rates. And now that they are out, companies are evaluating to see whether or not they would be commercial in terms of the rates approved. So they are still in a holding pattern, and hopefully, we will see something in the next few months.”

What cannot be underestimated, however, is the tide of public opinion. Feed-in tariffs and renewable energy are sticky subjects, as Pacheco points out: “It’s a multifaceted issue; it is laudable what the government is trying to do and renewables are really the future. But from a consumer perspective, they would think ‘why should I pay more for this if traditional sources of fuel would mean the same or less electricity cost for me, while here I am subsidising renewable energy’. So the regulator, the ERC, is trying to balance the situation between consumers and the possible impact on businesses.”

ということは、電力価格に対するインセンティブ制度の影響が弱ま る一方、再生可能エネルギーのセクターに対する投資が促進される ということです。 Bevash氏は「再生可能エネルギーは最も注目されている市場 で、フィリピンは豊富な資源に恵まれています」と説明します。こ れは、信頼できる再生可能エネルギーに対する自国の長期的ニーズ の確保を目的として、新しい電力プロジェクトの開発と資金調達プ ロセス正常化を進めようと政府が採択しているもう一つの前向きな 対策です。WWFが発表した最近の研究によれば、フィリピンは今 後10年間に、1,200MWの地熱発電、2,308MWの持続可能な水力発 電、235MWのバイオマス発電、7,404MWの風力発電を開発する能 力があります。 Smith氏は、「フィリピンには潜在性の高い有望な燃料資源は あまりありませんが、太陽光、すばらしい風力、優れた地熱発電の 埋蔵地があります。またバイオマスについては、サトウキビ産業な ど多くの農業慣習がこのプロジェクトに上手く活用できます。した がって、再生可能エネルギーは理にかなっているのです」と断言し ています。 水力発電プロジェクトは資本集約的ですが、一旦設備を設置す ればもうかるプロジェクトです。Plenderleith氏は「サン・ロ

ケ・ダムなど、特に、非常に優れているこ とが証明済みの日本から持ち込まれた投資 案件を見れば、フィリピンには優れた実績 があることがわかります。このセクターで 実施された案件は多く、水力発電は再生可 能エネルギーに対する取組みの後ろ盾を受 けて非常に有望だと思われます」と報告し ています。 太陽光発電と風力発電を見ても、同様 の傾向が説明できます。Bevash氏は「太 陽光吸収パネルの価格下落により太陽光発 電の収益性と魅力がますます高まると見ら れ、こうしたプロジェクトに伴う設備投資 負担が大きく低下していることから、人気 が明らかに高まっています」と指摘してい ます。風力発電もその他電力発電形式の補 完として、徐々に人気の高いエネルギー生 成形式になりつつあります。「電力需要が ピークを迎える日中に風が吹いていれば、 風力は非常に魅力的なピーク時の電力源に

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

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philippines report

A STEAMY SITUATION Although not covered by the feed-in tariffs, geothermal energy is an undeniably steamy topic when it comes to renewables. The Philippines is a top world producer of geothermal power, second only to the United States. The country’s Department of Energy estimates that there is still about 4.41 GW

of untapped potential for geothermal energy while currently, the Philippines has more than 2 GW of installed capacity, comprising nearly 18 percent of the country’s total energy output, according to a Baker & McKenzie report.

“Currently, geothermal power producers are upgrading their facilities, some have concessions on certain steam fields and are actively exploring and developing those concessions,” says Openshaw. Although the areas that contain steam reserves are limited geographically, many interviewees confirm that industry participants are keenly developing and expanding their projects.

However, there are some obstacles remaining in the renewables sector. Lawyers primarily identify an equity requirement by the government which states that only Philippine nationals (i.e. Filipino citizens or corporations, at least 60 percent of whose capital is owned by Filipinos) may harness renewable resources. “Foreign investors would normally want control of a project. However, under the constitution, renewable energy projects that harness forces of nature like wind and solar would be subject to this foreign equity limitation” says Quintero.

Yet, geothermal developments are exempt from this rule and are allowed to be owned entirely by foreign investors, as the government has classified steam as a mineral, and not a force of nature. Meanwhile, sources mention that moves are underway in Congress to re-evaluate this position, as opinion is mixed as to whether steam has correctly been classified as a mineral resource.

At the moment, the marketplace is seeing “definite interest in greenfield renewables although the feed-in-tariffs are perhaps much leaner than some potential investors had hoped, “ explains Plenderleith, “there is also interest in further investment centred on existing power assets, for example, rehabilitating certain plants, improving their efficiency and thereby changing their economics. There is also interest in the expansions of facilities; investors are attracted to linking their investments to existing assets due to the potential for practical and commercial synergies and the relative simplicity of expanding a project that already has a patchwork of approvals, rather than starting something in a new locality.”

なります」とBevash氏は続けます。 しかし、固定価格買取制度が発表され た今、弁護士はこれが市場に与える影響に ついて懸念しています。「こうした固定 価格買取制度だけでは、再生可能エネル ギーに対する規制枠組の解決にはなりま せん。また、対処しなければならない障 害がまだあります。例えば、再生可能エ ネルギー用に備蓄している760メガワット の電力をどのように配分するのでしょう か？開発業者の観点からこうした固定価格 をどのように導入し、徴収するのでしょ うか？」と、Sycip Salazarのパートナ ー、Angel Salita氏は主張します。彼は また、「固定価格買取制度の承認はこのセ クターの活性化における重要なステップで すが、実のところ物事は細部が難しく、投 資家はこうした詳細を慎重に待っているの です」と、続けます。 Pacheco氏は、「1年前は再生可能エ ネルギーに多いに関心を寄せていました。 特に風力発電と水力発電のプロジェクトに ついて検討していました。そこに、固定価 格買取制度の問題が浮上したため、一時的

にプロジェクトを休止しています。大半の投資案件は、固定買取価 格の結果が出るまで一時休止しています。この固定買取価格が公表 された今、企業は承認された固定買取価格という観点からこれら が商業化可能か否かを判断しています。そのため、まだ休止中で すが、今後数ヶ月間に何らかの結論が見られることを期待していま す」と続けています。 しかしながら、世論の流れを過小評価することはできませ ん。固定価格買取制度と再生可能エネルギーは厄介なテーマ で、Pacheco氏が指摘するように「これは多角的な問題です。政 府が成し遂げようとしていることは賞賛に値し、再生可能エネルギ ーの将来性は本当に有望です。しかしながら、消費者の観点から見 れば、従来の燃料源による電力価格が再生可能エネルギーによる電 力価格と同水準かそれよりも安ければ、再生可能エネルギーに補助 金を付与しているにもかかわらず高い電力価格を支払うことに疑問 に思うかもしれません。したがって、規制当局であるERCが消費者 と事業に与える影響との間でバランスを取ろうとしているのです。 」 様々な情報源が指摘しているように、投資家の中には政府や人 々が今後10年～15年間固定価格買取制度を保持するかどうかとい うことに懐疑的で、心から再生可能エネルギーの時流に乗れない人 もいます。「これが適切な時期における適切な政策か否かは、非常 に重大な問題なのです。国は新しい発電余力建設のために全資金と 時間を費やし、再生可能エネルギーに焦点を当てるだけでなく、実 際に何人に電力を供給するべきでしょうか？これは非常に政治的に

Various sources point out that some investors have not wholeheartedly jumped on the bandwagon because they are hesitant as to how committed the government and the population will stay to feed-in tariffs over the next 10 to 15 years. “It’s naturally a hotly debated issue in the Philippines, about whether this is the right policy at the right time. Should the country be focusing its financial resources and legislative time on this renewables program while consumers face issues with power outages and high pricing compared with other competing economies in Asia. Not surprisingly, it’s a politically sensitive issue,” reveals Plenderleith.

Lawyers agree that at the moment, from a developer standpoint, anyone who wants to avail of the feed-in tariffs should be in the process of developing their projects already.

The outstanding issue is that of financing, and interviewees indicate that lenders are not willing to lend unless the finalised implementation rules and regulations for the tariffs are released. Optimistically, this would happen later this year or early in 2013. Until then, it is a waiting game.

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

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philippines report

“RENEWABLE ENERGY IS OUR HOTTEST MARKET AND THE PHILIPPINES ARE BLESSED WITH ABUNDANT RESOURCES. FEED-IN TARIFFS ARE JUST ANOTHER POSITIVE STEP THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING TO NORMALISE THE PROCESS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCING OF NEW POWER PROJECTS TO SECURE ITS OWN LONG-TERM NEEDS FOR DEPENDABLE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.” JOSEPH BEVASH, Latham & Watkins PHILIPPINES LIGHTS IT UP The energy industry in the country is irrefutably a complex marketplace with myriad developments happening simultaneously. In general, however, offshore oil and gas, mining, and renewables have emerged as a success story for 2012; somewhat under-the-radar compared to the markets in neighbouring countries, yet undeniably a positive development.

微妙な問題なのです」と、Plenderleith氏は述べています。 弁護士によれば、開発業者の観点から見れば、固定買取価格制 度を利用した人は、現時点でこうしたプロジェクト開発のプロセス に既に携わっているはずです。未解決なのは、資金調達に関する問 題であり、インタビューした人によれば、貸手は固定買取価格に対 する実施ルールや規制が最終決定されない限り融資を実行したがら ないようです。今年後半か2013年初めには実施されることを期待 します。それまでは持久戦が続きます。 最新の状況 地熱エネルギーは固定価格買取制度の対象外ですが、再生エネ ルギーは間違いなく最新のトピックスです。フィリピンは米国に次 いで世界最大の地熱発電国です。フィリピンエネルギー省が見積っ たところ、同国にはまだ未開発の地熱エネルギーが約4.41GWある 一方で、Baker&McKenzieによれば、現在フィリピンの設備容 量は2GWであり、同国のエネルギー発電量全体の約18％を占めて います。 「現在、地熱発電業者は発電施設の向上を進めており、いくつ かの蒸気埋蔵地に対する利権を有し、積極的にこうした利権の開 発を進めています」とOpenshaw氏は述べ、「蒸気埋蔵地は限ら れた地域しかありませんが、この地域では市場参加者が積極的に開 発・拡大を進めていることがわかっています」と、続けます。 しかしながら、再生可能エネルギー・セクターには依然障害も あります。弁護士は主に、フィリピン国民だけが再生可能エネルギ ーを利用できるとする政府による株式投資要件を挙げています（す なわち、少なくともこのような株式資本の60％をフィリピン人ま たはフィリピン企業が保有）。「外国人投資家はもちろん全額支配 を望みますが、自然力の利用は外国人投資規制の対象であると法律 に記載されているため、憲法に基づきこうした風力、太陽光および 水力プロジェクトにはこの要件が課せられます」と、Quintero 氏は言います。しかしながら、政府は蒸気を自然力ではなく鉱物と して分類しているため、地熱エネルギーの開発にはこの規制が適用 されず、外国人投資家が株式全てを所有することができます。ただ し、蒸気を正確に鉱物資源として分類するか否かについて意見が分 かれているため、議会ではこうした状況を再評価する動きが進んで いると言われています。 現在、市場では「再生可能エネルギーに対して明確な関心」 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Honyaku Center **

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When it comes to promoting foreign investment and moving the economy forward, “It’s very important that the government has the political will to undertake the appropriate, though sometimes, tough measures, and this administration has demonstrated that it does,” says Openshaw encouragingly, “We represent both the government and the private sector, and it’s not always that you find the two sides generally working at the same pace or in the same direction as they seem to do now.”

Bevash sums it up by saying: “The Philippines is a large nation with an educated, technically-proficient population and a young, vibrant economy that is poised for continued growth. It’s showing very positive trends for long-term expansion and advances in electricity, natural resources and any other building blocks for a modern society.”

が寄せられており、「大半は古い資源の 再生を中心としたものであるため、一 部工場の再生が進められており、効率 性が向上し経済性が変化しています」 と、Plenderleith氏は説明します。ま た、工場拡大にも関心が高まっています。 投資家は、何か新しいプロジェクトを始め るよりも、既に承認済のプロジェクトを拡 大させる方が簡単なため、何がしかの既存 資源との関連付けを考えています。 展望の明るいフィリピン フィリピンのエネルギー産業では多くの 開発案件が同時に進行しており、間違いな く複雑な市場であると言えます。しかし総 じて、オフショア原油・ガス、採掘および 再生可能エネルギーは2012年度における成 功事例であり、近隣諸国市場と比べれば幾 分目立たないものの、間違いなく展望は明 るいのです。 海外投資の促進や経済の発展に関して言 えば、「重要なことは、政府が正しい対策 を取り、政治的な意図を有し、政権もそれ を有していることです。我々は、政府と民 間セクターの両者の代理人を務めています が、両者が同じペースで同じ方向に向かっ て作業することは極めて稀なことです」と Openshaw氏は意欲的に語ります。 Bevash氏は最後に「フィリピンは、教 育を受けた技術的水準の高い国民を抱える 大国で、成長持続に向けた態勢を整えた若 い活気のある経済国です。近代社会に向け て電力、天然資源およびその他構成要素を 長期的に進歩・拡張させる非常に明るいト レンドを示しているのです」とまとめてい ます。

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Cultur

Rooting out insider trading

文化的変革：日本における In the wake of headline-grabbing insider trading scandals that have plagued Japan for the last few months, a working group has finally been assembled by the country’s top financial regulator to discuss tightening its insider trading rules. However, unless harsher sanctions are put in place and implemented, some industry watchers are wary the common practice of sharing sensitive information could ever be stamped out. Candice Mak reports

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41

al shift in Japan

インサイダー取引の撲滅 ここ数ヶ月間日本を苦しめてきたトップ記事を飾るインサイダー取引のスキャン ダルに引き続き、ついにインサイダー取引規制の強化を議論するために国のトッ プの金融規制当局によりワーキング・グループが召集された。しかし、より厳格 な制裁措置が導入され、実施されない限り、業界専門家の一部は慣行として行わ れてきた機密情報の共有が根絶されることはあり得ないだろうと警戒している。 （キャンディス・マックのレポート。）

REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

T

hough the insider trading storm for Nomura (See box-out on p. 44) and other top securities firms in Japan has seemingly subsided for now, behind the scenes, authorities are just beginning to gear up. The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has assembled two special investigative task forces, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) has been conducting an industry-wide investigation, and lawmakers are discussing changes to insider trading laws and Japan’s Companies Act to enhance corporate governance. Will the recent media furore, enforcement efforts and possible legislative changes be successful in stamping out insider trading ahead of public share offerings? The problem has gone unchecked in Japan for years, and some industry watchers are cynical that the culture of information sharing could ever truly be altered.

Insider trading rules amendments On July 4, financial services minister Tadahiro Matsushita instructed an advisory panel of scholars and experts to review current regulations and propose new rules, including penalising those who pass on insider information. The two key focuses of the Financial Services Agency’s (FSA) working group are: 1) Determining whether the provision of insider information to other persons should be penalised (as

opposed to insider trading – acting upon the information- itself); and 2) Determining whether administrative fines on insider trading should be increased.

One senior in-house counsel at an international investment bank in Japan told ALB that while he is supportive of heavier administrative fines on insider dealings, “as they should deter violations at least to some extent”, he is against the introduction of a new regulation on the provision of insider information: “The provision of insider regulation is already regulated and can be penalised, despite some media reports to the contrary. New regulation, if it is ever introduced, is likely to be unclear, and accordingly difficult to comply with or enforce.” On the other hand, Ashurst Tokyo partner Kensuke Inoue feels that the provision of insider information should be made illegal. “Insider information, once communicated, could trigger illegal activities. To protect the integrity of the securities market and trading, I believe simply providing insider or price sensitive information should be prohibited, at least with some substantial sanctions.”

Critics have slammed Japan’s penalties as being far too lax by global standards to act as a deterrent against insider trading. In Japan, fines are designed mainly to forfeit ill-gotten profits, and in cases where investment funds commit insider trading for clients’ ac-

“To some extent it’s a culture thing. Japan consists of very small communities and everyone knows each other in the industry. However, if the new sanctions are strong enough, that may change the picture. It really depends on what the amendments end up being.”

Kensuke Inoue, Ashurst

「ある程度」というのは文化的なものによるものである。日本は非常に 小さな複数のコミュニティーから形成されており、業界内の人同士お互 いを知っている。しかし、新しい制裁が十分に強ければ、様相が変わって くる可能性がある。それは、改正内容の如何に大きくかかっている。」 －アシャースト（Ashurst）の井上謙介

野

村證券とその他日本トップの証券会社のインサイダ ー取引の嵐は今のところ一見沈静化したが、舞台裏 では、当局が準備態勢を整え始めている。東京証券 取引所（東証）は、2つの調査対策本部を召集、即 ち、証券取引等監視委員会（ＳＥＳＣ）は業界全般に及ぶ調査を実 施しており、議員はコーポレートガバナンスの強化のためインサイ ダー取引規制と会社法の改正を議論している。公開株式の公募に先 立つ、最近のマスコミ騒動、取り締まり強化、法改正の可能性は公 開株のインサイダー取引の根絶に成功するであろうか？日本ではこ の問題が何年ものあいだ野放しになっており、業界専門家の中には 情報共有の文化が本当に変わることはないだろうと皮肉る者もい る。 インサイダー規制改正 7月4日、金融相松下忠洋は学者や専門家の諮問機関にインサイ ダー情報の提供者に対する罰則を含め現在の規制見直しと新規則の 提案をするよう指示した。金融庁（FSA）のワーキング・グループ の二つの中核となる点は以下のとおりである。１）（情報自体に科 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

せられる インサイダー取引とは対照的に）他人へのインサイダー 情報の提供行為が罰せられるべきかを決定。２）インサイダー取引 に対する過料の金額を増やすべきかどうかを決定。 日本の国際投資銀行 の上級顧問弁護士がALBに伝えたところに よると、「最低でもある程度違反を阻止すると思い」インサイダー 取引に対するより重い過料を支持しているが、彼はインサイダー取 引を取り締まる新規制の導入には反対で、「メディアの一部は反 対のことを報道しているが、インサイダー取引の規制はすでに施 行されており、罰することができる。新しい規制が導入されたと しても、それは不明確である可能性が高く、従って規則に従うこ とも実施することも困難であろう」と言う。一方、アシャースト （Ashurst）の東京オフィス・パートナーである井上謙介はイン サイダー情報の提供は違法にすべきだと感じている。「インサイダ ー情報は一旦伝えられれば違法行為の引き金になる。証券市場、株 式市場の整合性を守るためには単純に、最低でも実質的制裁をかけ てインサイダー情報や価格に敏感な情報の提供を禁止すべきだと思 う。」 評論家は日本の罰則がインサイダー取引を阻止する力として機

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counts, fines are calculated based on fees the funds receive from the clients. For example, Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking was fined just 50,000 yen ($600) for trading on insider information ahead of Inpex Corp’s 507 billion yen ($6.4 billion) global share offering in July 2010, when it was reported to have earned 10 million yen by shorting the stock. In late May, a fund management arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc was slapped with a fine of 130,000 yen ($1,600) for insider trading related to the Inpex share offering and a public share offering by Mizuho. And in the most recent insider trading case, no fine was even set - securities firm SMBC Nikko was given a so-called “business improvement order” for passing on information about parent Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s 953 billion yen ($12 billion) capital increase.

According to an interview International Financing Review (IFR)

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conducted with a senior director of the committee on financial affairs in Japan’s upper house of parliament, the aim is to introduce legislation that “will act as a deterrent” not only for those acting on insider information, but also those providing it. “Those who pass on insider information will also be guilty,” Tsutomu Okubo told IFR. Under current law, those working for underwriters who leak information about deals into the market are not subject to regulatory sanctions. This leads to a situation where the authorities sanction and fine fund managers acting on inside information, while those who solely pass on tips go unpunished – making insider trading relatively easy.

The reforms on insider trading will be achieved through amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FI&E Act).

Amendments to the FI&E Act will legalise soft-sounding investors who have signed confidentiality agreements. This change should help

REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

能するためには世界の基準と比較してあまりにも杜撰であると激し く非難している。日本では、過料は不正利益を没収するために設計 されている。投資ファンド が顧客の口座に対しインサイダー取引 を犯せば、過料はクライアントから受け取った手数料に基づいて計 算される。例えば、中央三井アセット信託銀行 は株式を空売りし て10億円得たと報告された2010年6月の国際石油開発帝石株式会社 （国際石油開発帝石）の国際株式売却の5070億円（約64億ドル） に先んじて インサイダー情報を取引したとして5万円 (約600ドル) の過料を科せられた。5月下旬、三井住友トラスト・ホールディン グス株式会社の資金運用部は国際石油開発帝石の株式公募とみず ほの公開株式公募に関係するインサイダー取引により13万円（約 1600ドル）の過料を科せられた。最新のインサイダー取引のケー スでは、過料すら科せられなかった。親会社である住友三井ファイ ナンシャルグループの9530億円（約120億ドル）の資本金増資に関 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

する情報を渡したとして、証券会社ＳＭＢＣ日興証券はいわゆる「 業務改善命令 」を発せられた。 ＩＦＲが行った参議院財政金融委員会の委員長へのインタビュ ーによると、インサイダー情報に従って行動する者に対してだけで なくインサイダー情報を提供するものに対しても「抑止力として機 能する」法整備をすることが目的だという。「インサイダー情報を 提供する者も有罪となる。」と大久保勉はＩＦＲに言った。 現行の法の下では、取引に関する情報を市場に漏洩する引受会 社に勤務するものは規制を目的とした制裁措置の対象ではない。単 に助言を与えるものは罰せられず（これはインサイダー取引を比較 的容易なものにしている）、これは助言だけするものは罰せられな い（これはインサイダー取引を比較的容易なものにしている。）一 方、当局は内部情報に従って行動するファンド・マネージャーに制 裁と過料を科しているという状況を作り出す元となっている。

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Nomura collides with Japan’s insider trading crackdown The long and winding tale of Nomura, the “too-big-to-punish” broker

By Nathan Layne, Taro Fuse

J

apanese regulators reached breaking point in March after months of stonewalling by the country’s largest broker, which they suspected of leaking confidential information to clients ahead of share sales.

A trail of evidence in a near two-year probe into pre-sale tip-offs, the most extensive in Japan for years, had taken investigators deep inside Nomura Securities, part of the 87-year-old group at the heart of Japan’s capital markets, but the firm’s top executives kept stalling, say people involved in the investigation.

In late March, bankers waiting outside the office of Shozaburo Jimi, then Financial Services Minister overseeing the regulatory agency, were startled to hear him bellow to aides: “I haven’t had one call from Nomura yet. What the hell’s going on?”

From interviews with more than a dozen bankers, regulators, and lawyers with direct knowledge of the investigation emerges a picture of a reluctant watchdog roused into action in 2010 by whistle-blowers with statistical evidence that the Tokyo market was rigged against share issuers and investors.

It is also a tale of a “too-big-to-punish” broker – Nomura – skirting around flimsy insider trading laws, and cosy ties with longstanding clients, cemented by a culture of entertaining and gift giving that set the backdrop for sharing corporate secrets.

In June, Nomura acknowledged for the first time that its employees had leaked confidential information on three separate public share offerings in 2010. On June 18, it was omitted from a list of institutions chosen by the Ministry of Finance to underwrite a government sale of around $6 billion worth of shares in Japan Tobacco.

Nomura declined to comment on specific issues for this article, but referred to a June 8 statement it issued after Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended fining a U.S. company for trading on non-public information about a share offering by Tokyo Electric Power – one of the three cases involving Nomura.

“Nomura takes this matter seriously, and will implement improvement measures and disciplinary action in accordance with the results of the internal investigation and the Commission’s inspection,” the broker said then.

By the middle of 2011, the SESC had contacted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and was poring over data that showed Nomura failed to protect sensitive information on companies planning share issues, the sources say. The showdown between the SESC and Nomura developed behind the scenes for months, according to the sources, who could not speak publicly about the matter as the probe is ongoing.

Regulators are likely in the weeks ahead to order Nomura to improve its internal controls, sources say, after finding that confidential information leaked from its syndicate desk to its institutional sales team, in breach of basic banking safeguards, and then was passed on to clients. It could even be ordered to close some operations for weeks, and regulators may flex their muscles and push for a leadership shake-up at Nomura.

In past insider trading cases, Japanese regulators have tended to slap wrists rather than go for the jugular. Under weaker insider trading rules than most developed markets, the person leaking information is practically immune from prosecution unless they trade

on that inside knowledge.

But Nomura has lost a third of its market value since a first insider trading case was announced, reflecting investor worries about the impact on its business. In addition to being left off government deals, some investors may stop trading with it for a certain period in line with their own compliance rules.

“If Nomura were dropped from deals there would naturally be an impact on its business.

Their reputation would take a hit, and its market share would fall,” said Azuma Ohno, a brokerage analyst at Barclays in Tokyo.

“There’s nothing but risk here.”

Born Again?

On April 25, investigators charged into Nomura’s offices, and set up base on the 14th floor of the Urbannet Otemachi Building, a high rise that was once a showpiece of the financial district, but had earned the nickname “bubble tower” because it was finished in 1990 right after Japan’s economic bubble collapsed.

Yet even in the days after the rare escalation to an on-site investigation, SESC officials struggled to gain traction with lower-level executives who insisted there were no systemic problems. Investigators believed CEO Kenichi Watanabe and chief operating officer Takumi Shibata were getting a censored version of events.

“Watanabe and Shibata are not getting straight information from the sales force, who are in their own world,” one of the sources said in early May. “Once senior management understands and reveals the bad practice, Nomura can be born again.”

In one case, when investigators identified a junior Nomura equity saleswoman in her 20s

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as the source of a leak on a $ 6 billion offering by energy firm Inpex in 2010, they were told by the brokerage she could not answer further questions because the stress of the investigation had become too much.

The stonewalling became harder to defend after March when Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking, now part of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, admitted to insider trading on Inpex, and privately told regulators Nomura was the source of the leak.

That kind of leak had been widespread in Tokyo after 2008, an almost sure-fire way for funds to turn an easy bet by shorting shares, and a simple way for brokers to boost commissions in a weak market. A recapitalising boom in 2009 and 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis lit a fire under such trades. In secondary offerings, existing shareholders can see their stakes diluted as more shares come on the market.

A Reuters analysis shows shares of companies in 20 of the top 25 secondary offerings in 2010 underperformed the benchmark TOPIX index by an average of nearly 4 times in the three weeks prior to the deal being announced. The analysis did not account for media reports that sometimes preceded announcements. That stock performance gap nevertheless equated to $ 16 billion in market value, hurting shareholders, and increasing the issuers’ cost of capital.

“The market fell apart in 2008, and almost from that moment you could see the trend emerge. The companies doing the lead underwriting were suddenly under big pressure and started to cut corners,” said Nicholas Smith, Japan strategist at CLSA. Sparking debate A handful of global funds, upset at the damage being done to their portfolios, visited the regulator in late 2010, and urged it to take action. Indus Capital, for one, had seen its holding in Inpex decimated by the leak and ensuing sell-off.

Smith, then at MF Global, was a spark in the debate. At the request of his fund clients, he gathered data on stock underperformance ahead of offerings, and published a report that for the first time revealed the scale of the problem.

The flurry of media coverage that followed was crucial in prodding the financial regulator into action, people close to its thinking say.

The SESC is now under pressure to prove itself to the global financial community, and how it deals with Japan’s top underwriter will be

closely watched.

Nomura is not the only broker ensnared in the investigation.

Nikko SMBC Securities was punished for priming its retail clients with non-public information about the share sale of its parent bank, and J.P. Morgan was found to have leaked news of a stock offering by Nippon Sheet Glass to a Japanese hedge fund. Nikko has since apologised, and announced steps to bolster compliance. J.P. Morgan, a U.S. bank, said it had not been accused of any “organisational” involvement in insider trading.

In late May and early June, it emerged that investigators were looking into insider trading in two other share offerings underwritten by Nomura – by Mizuho Financial Group and Tokyo Electric – dashing any hopes Nomura had of ring-fencing the problem around the isolated Inpex case.

“Tell me the truth!” Watanabe boomed to staff on the equity sales floor soon after the Mizuho case was announced, according to a person present. It was a key turning point: Nomura’s approach to the regulator was about to change.

Cosy ties The probe shone a light on a hard-charging culture at Nomura that harked back to its checkered past. In 1991, Nomura and other brokers were caught compensating top clients for post-bubble investment losses, and a 2008 insider trading ring centred around a Nomura employee in Hong Kong prompted Watanabe to promise tougher internal controls.

A report by an investigative panel set up

by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust to look into its compliance issues offers a window into how Nomura sales executives went about forging extremely close ties with their clients. The report, which refers to “Securities Company X” - which sources say is Nomura - contends that those relationships were too close, clouding the judgment of the fund managers implicated in the probe.

The unnamed Chuo Mitsui fund manager found to have traded on inside information ahead of the Mizuho Financial offering was entertained by a sales executive of Securities Company X 39 times over a nine-month period at a total cost of 890,000 yen ($11,200), and received 320,000 yen in gifts, the report says.

In the Inpex case, the bond between broker salesperson and fund manager was so tight the two often exchanged e-mails on

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45

their personal mobile phones, and the fund manager attended the salesperson’s wedding, the report said. While the report did not name the brokerage employee, sources have identified her as the young woman in Nomura’s institutional sales department.

Nomura has not disclosed her name.

Sources say she met the fund manager at a café near Chuo Mitsui’s office on June 30, where regulators believe she relayed news of the impending Inpex offering. The fund manager unloaded Inpex shares the next day. The offering was officially announced a week later.

Her knowing of the offering ahead of time would constitute a breach of the “Chinese Wall” that exists in investment banks as a safeguard against information on stock offerings and other material facts from leaking out.

The SESC has zeroed in on Nomura’s syndicate desk - which sits between sales and equity capital markets, and is brought “over the wall” on deals to help gauge investor demand - as the origin of the leak to institutional sales, sources say.

Minimising risk In the face of mounting evidence, Nomura has moved quickly in recent weeks to minimise the risk of a tough penalty.

Watanabe, upset by how his compliance team had dealt with the problem, has tasked two trusted executives – Chie Toriumi and Shoichi Nagamatsu - with breaking the impasse with the Financial Services Agency, the top banking regulator which oversees the SESC, sources said.

Toriumi is known as a communicator, and reports directly to Watanabe. Nagamatsu, a senior investment banking executive, was drafted in part due to his experience dealing with a scandal in the 1990s when he was a liaison to the finance ministry.

The SESC, waiting for Nomura to announce this month the findings of that internal investigation by outside lawyers, faces a balancing act between wanting to send out a tough message against insider trading, and the potential consequences of sidelining a bank vital to Japan’s capital markets.

“This is a serious problem, but I’m not so sure that translates into a serious punishment,” said Yuri Yoshida, a director at Standard & Poor’s. “Besides, it would be hard to get underwriting and other deals done without going through Nomura.”

(This article appeared in Reuters on June 21, 2012)

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

野村、国内インサイダー取引の取り締まりと衝突 長く、曲がりくねった野村「罰するには大きすぎる」ブローカーのストーリー。 By ネイサン・レーン、布施太郎

株

式の公募に先立ち機密情報を顧客に 漏洩した容疑がかけられている日本 の最大の証券会社の何ヶ月にも亘るはぐら かしで日本の取締官は遂に3月に限界点に 達した。 日本の資本市場の心臓部で87年の歴史 を持ちグループの一部で長い間日本で最も 広範囲に及んだ野村証券。2年近くに渡る 会社内部深くに調査官を入り込ませた捜査 により内部情報の事前販売の証拠が発覚し たが企業の最高幹部たちはごまかし続けた とこの捜査の関係者は言う。 3月下旬に、銀行家達は自見 庄三郎 の 事務所の外で待っていた。すると、こっそ り見ていた金融相は規制当局が補佐官に怒 鳴っているのを聞いて驚いた。：「野村か らまだ一つも電話がかかってこない。一体 全体どうなっているんだ？」 調査の直接的知識を持った１０人以上 の銀行家、取締官、弁護士達とのインタビ ューより、消極的な監視機関が株式発行者 や投資家に対し東京市場が操作されたとい う統計的証拠を持った内部告発者により２ ０１０年に行動に奮起させられたという様 相を浮かびあがってきた。 それはまた脆弱なインサイダー取引規 制を回避し、企業秘密を共有する背景を作 り出した接待と贈り物の文化により固めら れた積年の顧客との癒着で、野村は「罰す るには大きすぎる」ブローカーという話で もある。 ６月に、野村は従業員が２０１０年に ３つの別個の公開株式公募についての機密 情報を漏洩していたことを初めて認めた。 ６月１８日、野村は日本たばこ産業の約６ ０億ドルに相当する株式の政府による売却 を引き受ける財務省選定の機関一覧から除 外された。

野村はこの記事の為に特定の問題に関 し、コメントをすることを拒否したが、野 村が関与する３つの例の一つである６月８ 日の声明（日本の証券取引等監視委員会が 東京電力の株式公募に関する非公開情報の 取引をする米国企業を見つけることを推奨 した後に発表）について言及した。 「野村はこの問題を深刻に受け止め、 内部調査や委員会の調査の結果に従い、改 善措置や懲戒処分を実施するだろう。」と ブローカーは言った。 情報によると、２０１１年の半ばまで に、証券取引等監視委員会 は米国の証券 取引委員会に連絡し、野村が株式発行を計 画している企業の機密情報を保護しなかっ たことを示すデータを熟読していたとい う。情報によると、調査が進行中なので、 公には話すことができなかったが、何ヶ月 ものの間、証券取引等監視委員会と野村の 対決は水面下で発展したという。 情報によると、銀行業務の基本保障措 置に違反して、シンジケートデスクから法 人営業チームに漏洩し、さらには顧客へと 渡された機密情報を見つけた後、取締官は 数週間のうちに内部統制を改善させるよう 野村に命令するだろうという。いくつかの 営業所を数週間の間営業停止させるよう命 令する可能性さえある。そして、取締官は 力を誇示し、野村の指導部を大変革をせま るかもしれない。 過去のインサイダー取引のケースで は、日本の取締官は急所を突くというより むしろ軽い叱責をする傾向があった。 多 くの先進国市場に比して緩いインサイダー 取引規制の下、情報を漏洩している人物は 内部情報に基づいて取り引きしない限り訴 訟から免れる。 しかし、野村は最初のインサイダー取

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

引のケースが発表されてから、それが事業 に与える影響を心配する投資家の懸念を反 映し、３分の１の市場価値を失った。政府 の取引から除外されたことに加え、一部の 投資家は自分たちのコンプライアンス・ル ールに従い一定期間、野村との取引を中止 するかも知れない。 「もし、野村が取り引きから除外され れば当然事業にも影響があるであろう。野 村の評判は打撃を受けるだろうし、市場占 有率 も縮小するだろう。」と東京のバー クレイズ証券 の証券アナリスト、大野東 は言う。「ここにあるのはリスクだけだ。 」 再生？ ４月２５日、捜査当局は野村のオフィ スに突入し、かつては金融地区の傑作であ ったが日本のバブル崩壊直後の１９９０年 に終わってしまったことからバブルタワー の異名をとった高層ビル、アーバンネット 大手町ビルの１４階に拠点を設置した。 現地検証が稀な盛り上がりを見せた数 日後でさえ、証券取引等監視委員会当局は そこに制度的問題は存在しないと主張する 下級幹部を引率するのに四苦八苦した。捜 査当局はCEO渡部賢一と最高執行責任者 の柴田拓美 は検閲向けの情報を得ていた と見ている。 ５月初旬の情報によると、営業陣は自 分達の世界におり、渡部と柴田は営業陣か ら直接情報を得ていない。「一旦、上級管 理職員が悪い慣習を理解し、明らかにすれ ば、野村は生まれ変わることができる。」 捜査当局がエネルギー会社、国際石油 開発帝石による６０億ドルの公募に関する 情報の漏洩の原因として２０代の女性若手 株式販売員を特定した時に、捜査のストレ

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スがあまりにも積み重なり、彼女はこれ以 上答えることができないと証券会社に伝え られた。 ３月に現三井住友トラストホールディ ングスの一部となった中央三井アセット信 託銀行が国際石油開発帝石に対するインサ イダー取引を認め、捜査当局に野村が漏洩 の源であったと個人的に語った後、はぐら かしは困難を極めた。 ２００８年以降東京では、株式を空売 りし資金を簡単な賭けにしてほぼ確実にう まくいく方法、そしてブローカーにとって 低迷する市場で手数料を値上げする簡単な 方法 、そういった類の漏洩が広がってい た。そのような取引の元、金融危機を受 け、2009年と2010年に資本構成を変更す るブームに火がついた。売出しでは、既存 の株主はより多くの株式が市場に出される につれ、自分たちの出資金が希釈されてい るのがわかった。 ロイター通信の分析によると、2010年 の上位25の売出し中20の会社の株式が取 引の発表に３週間先立ち、平均でほぼ４倍 TOPIX指数の市場平均価格を下回ったとい うことを示している。この分析は時には発 表に先立つマスコミの報道を考慮に入れて いない。それでもなお、株式パフォーマン スのギャップは市場価格１６０億USドル に相当し、株主に損害をあたえ、株式発行 者の資本コストを増大させている。 「市場は2008年に崩壊し、ほぼその瞬 間から、トレンドの出現が見られた。」「 主要引受会社は突如大きな圧力にさらさ れ、手を抜き始めた。」とCLSAの日本ス トラテジストであるニコラス･スミスは言 った。 火のついた議論 一握りの世界基金が自らのポートフォ リオへのダメージに動揺し、２０１０年後 半に取締官を訪問し、措置を講じるよう求 めた。一例としてはインダス·キャピタル が、漏洩と確実な株の公募により、国際石 油開発帝石の持ち株が大打撃を受けた。 その後、スミスはMF Global で議論 に火をつけた。自らのファンド顧客の要請 により公募に先立ち、伸び悩む株式に関す るデータを集め、初めて問題の規模を明ら かにした報告書を発表した。 それに近い考えを持つ人々はそれに続 いた相次ぐメディア報道は、金融規制当局 を行動に駆り立てるのに重要だと言う。 証 券取引等監視委員会 は今や、全世界の金融 界に自らを証明する圧力、そして日本のト ップの引受会社といかに取引するかが厳重 に監視されているという圧力の下にある。 野村は捜査の罠にかかった唯一のブロ

ーカーではない。 SMBC日興証券はリテール顧客に親銀行 の株式公募についての非公開情報を事前に 教えて罰せられ、JPモルガンは日本板硝子 から日本のヘッジファンドへの株式公募の ニュースを漏洩したということが判明し た。日興はそれ以来、謝罪し、コンプライ アンス強化のための措置を発表した。米国 の銀行、JPモルガンは、自分たちはいかな るインサイダー取引への「組織的」関与で も罪にとわれてはいないと言った。 ５月下旬と６月初旬に捜査当局は、孤 立した国際石油開発帝石のケース周辺の問 題について特別なケースとして保護すると いう希望を打ち砕き、他の２つの株式公 募、すなわち野村、みずほファイナンシャ ルグループ、東京電力により引き受けられ たインサイダー取引について調査していた ことが明らかになった。 そこにいた人間によると、渡部はみず ほの事件が発表された直後、「本当のこと を教えてください。」と株式営業フロアで スタッフに食いついたという。それは、重 要なターニングポイントであった。：野村 の取締官に対する取り組みが変わろうして いる。 癒着 捜査は波乱万丈な過去を思い出させる 変えがたい野村の文化に光を当てた。１９ ９１年、野村と他のブローカーは上位顧客 にバブル崩壊後の投資損失を補償した容疑 で捕まり、２００８年の香港の野村の従業 員を中心として展開するインサイダー取引 は渡部により厳格な内部統制を約束させる よう駆り立てた。 コンプライアンスの問題を調査する為 に住友三井トラストホールディングスによ り設置された調査委員会の報告は野村の販 売幹部が顧客たちといかに密接な関係を構 築するかの窓口を提供している。「証券会 社X」と言及するその報告書は情報源によ るとそれは野村のことで 、その関係は親 密すぎ、捜査に関係しているファンド・マ ネージャーの判断力を鈍らせると主張す る。報告書によると、みずほフィナンシャ ル公募に先立ち、無名の中央三井のファン ド・マネージャーが内部情報を取引してい たことが判明。これは証券会社の営業幹部 による接待で９ヶ月間にわたり39倍、総費 用が８９万円（約11,200USドル）で、32 万円の贈り物を受けとったという。 報告書によると、国際石油開発帝石の ケースではブローカー営業担当者とファ ンド･マネージャーのつながりは非常に強 く、頻繁に個人の携帯電話で電子メールを 交わし、ファンドマネージャーは営業担当 者の結婚式に出席したという。報告書では

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

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ブローカー従業員の名前は挙がっていなか ったが、情報によると野村の法人営業部門 の若い女性であることがわかった。野村は 彼女の名前を公表していない。 情報によると、彼女は6月30日に中央三 井のオフィス近くの喫茶店でファンド・マ ネージャー に知り合ったという。捜査当 局は彼女はここで、間近に迫った国際石油 開発帝石のニュースを伝えたと確信してい る。ファンド・マネージャーは、翌日国際 石油開発帝石の株式を売却。売却は一週間 後に公式に発表された。 彼女が事前に公募を知っていたこと は、株式公募の情報や他の重要事項の漏洩 に対する投資銀行の保護条項として存在す る「企業内の部署間情報規制 」違反を構 成する。 情報によると、証券取引等監視委員会 は、販売とベンチャー・キャピタル市場の 間に位置し、投資家の需要を評価する手助 けとして、取引上の「壁を越えて」導入さ れた野村のシンジケートデスクに狙いを定 めた模様である。 リスクの最小化 増え続ける証拠に直面し、野村は厳し い罰則のリスクを最小限に抑えるため、こ こ数週間速に行動している。 情報によると、渡部は自らのコンプラ イアンスチームがいかにして問題の対応に 当たったかに動揺し、信頼性のある2人の 幹部鳥海智絵 と永松 昌一 に証券取引等監 視委員会を監視するトップ金融当局である 金融庁の行き詰まりを打開する任務を課し た。 鳥海はコミュニケーターとして知ら れ、渡部に直接報告する。投資銀行上級幹 部である永松は部分的には財務省の連絡係 を務めていた時に1990年代のスキャンダル を処理した経験をかわれて引き抜かれた。 証券取引等監視委員会は野村が今月、 社外弁護士によるその内部調査の結果を発 表するのを待って、インサイダー取引に対 する厳しいメッセージを送りたいという要 望と、日本の資本市場の根幹である銀行を 主役から除外することの潜在的重大さのバ ランス調整に立ち向かう。 「これは深刻な問題だが、私はそれが 厳しく処罰されることにつながるかはわか らない。」とStandard & Poor’sの吉 田百合は言った。「それに、野村を通じず に引受けや他の取引をするのは難しいだろ う。」 （この記事は2012年6月21日にロイター通 信に掲載された。）

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Nomura Holdings Inc outgoing Chief Executive Watanabe sits beside incoming Chief Executive Nagai at a news conference in Tokyo. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

rights issues, which protect existing shareholders, become a more common method of raising funds by addressing Japanese houses’ concerns about the risk of underwriting transactions without first being able to talk to key shareholders. The FSA working group discussions are in initial stages, but the government hopes to submit a bill to introduce new, tougher rules at the diet ordinary meeting next spring.

Clamping down In addition to revising insider trading rules, IFR reports that Japanese authorities and exchanges are upping their efforts to clean up financial markets, with a number of inspection teams being created to shed light on wrongdoing.

Bankers had hoped the resignation of Nomura chief executive

インサイダー取引に関する改革は金融商品取引法(FI&E Act)の 改正により達成されるであろう。金融商品取引法の改正は秘密保持 契約を結んだ一見聞こえのよい投資家を合法化する。この改正は既 存の株主を保護する権利問題の助けとなるはずであるが、実際には 先に主要株主と話し合えずに取引を引き受けるリスクについての日 本の議会の懸念を主張することにより資金集めをする一般的な方法 となっている。金融庁のワーキング・グループの議論は初期段階に あるが、政府は来春の通常国会でより厳しい新規制を導入するため に法案を提出したいと願っている。 違法行為の取り締まり インサイダー取引規制の見直しに加え、ＩＦＲの報告によると日本の 当局と取引所は不正行為を浮き彫りにするために多くの調査団を発足さ せ金融市場を一掃する努力をしているという。 銀行家たちは野村の渡部賢一 社長の辞任とそれに続く銀行に対す る業務改善命令は問題下で区別を明確にするかもしれないと期待した ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

Kenichi Watanabe and subsequent business improvement orders for the bank might draw a line under the matter, but authorities say they will now increase their monitoring efforts across the industry.“The regulators and industry are working together to stamp out insider trading in Japan,” said Taro Takeda, standing governor of the TSE’s compliance unit, in an interview with IFR. “The TSE views insider trading as a serious issue.”

The exchange has already monitored “intensively” the shorting of stocks and other suspicious trading ahead of public offerings. Takeda said it will now work more closely with the Japan Securities Dealers Association, the FSA, and its investigative arm the SESC. To that end, the bourse set up in late July a new 13-staff department – the Public Offering Investigation Office – to start monitoring

が、当局は今、業界全体の監視を強化すると言う。 ＩＦＲとのインタビューで「規制当局と業界は日本におけるインサイ ダー取引を撲滅するために一緒になって取り組んでいる。」と東京証券 取引所のコンプライアンス・チームの常任取締役の武田太郎はＩＦＲと のインタビューで言った。 「東京証券取引所はインサイダー取引を深刻 な問題としてみている。」 取引所はすでに株式の空売りや公開公募に先んじる他の疑わしい取 引を集中的に監視されている。武田氏は 取引所は日本証券業協会や金 融庁、証券取引等監視委員会 の調査部門とより緊密な連携をとるであ ろうと言う。 そのため、株式取引所は7月下旬に13名のスタッフからなる公開株式 調査室を設置し取引の監視を開始した。この調査室は東京証券取引所 の取引監視の元責任者による主導で、取引の最中と前後に情報フロー の最前線にいられるよう、引受銀行と聞き取りセッションを開く。8月13 日に東京証券取引所は特別調査団も設置した。もっとも取引の多かった 取引会社が調査のために選定され、情報マネージメントの改善方法につ

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

“The various corrective measures that the Japanese regulators have recently been taking on securities firms would send out a message that they will not tolerate these types of [insider trading] actions. Through these measures, the Japanese market will hopefully regain the trust and credibility from non-Japanese investors.”

Kensuke Suzuki, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

deals. It is led by the former head of trading supervision at the TSE, and will hold hearing sessions with underwriting banks and to be on top of the information flow before, during and after deals. On Aug. 13, the TSE also set up a special inspection team. The underwriters with the most deals will be selected for examination and be instructed on ways to improve information management. The recommendations will be mandatory for the financial institutions to follow and failure to comply will carry potential penalties within the framework of TSE membership, for example, the suspension of a firm’s stock trading licence or a fine of up to 100 million yen.

Criminal sanctions “It’s a bit misleading to say there is no sanction on tippers of information, because there is a concept of aiding and abetting criminal parties,” says Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu partner Kensuke Suzuki, referring to the fact that the FI&E Act does criminally punish those found to be passing on insider trading information to eventual insider traders. The key point, however, is that the tipper must be proven to

have knowledge the information would lead to an illicit action. This is extremely difficult.

The investment bank senior in-house counsel reminds that “Japanese insider regulation as currently in force already prohibits what happened at brokerage houses such as Nomura. Further, the provision of insider information to offenders could constitute ‘assistance’ for criminal conducts under existing criminal law principles, and could be penalised accordingly”. He also highlights that Japan’s regulations governing securities brokers have business conduct rules and they require, among other things, that securities companies keep control over non-public price sensitive information of listed companies, and not to solicit clients by providing such information.

Elaborating on the existence of sanctions already written into the law, Suzuki notes that since the insider trading rules were first introduced in the 1980s, the level of applicable criminal penalties for this action has become heavier and heavier, and now “it is one of the most severe levels provided under the FI&E Act”. However, nobody has ever been found criminally guilty for insider trading.

「最近日本の規制当局が証券会社にとってきている様々な是正措置はこのようなタイプの[ インサイダー取引]行動を容認しないといったメッセージを伝えるだろう。このような措置を 通じて、日本市場が日本人以外の投資家たちの信用を取り戻すといいのだが。」 －鈴木謙介、長島・大野・常松 いて指導を受ける。金融機関は助言に従う義務があり、従わなかった場 合は、東京証券取引所の会員の枠組みの中で、例えば、企業の株式取引 の許可の一時停止や1億ドルを上限とした過料などのペナルティーを受 ける可能性をはらんでいる。 刑事制裁 金融商品取引法がインサイダー情報を最終的なインサイダー取引者 に提供したということが発覚した者に刑事罰を与えているという事実に 言及して「犯罪関係者の幇助や教唆といった概念があるから 、情報の 内報者に対する制裁がないというのは語弊があるかもしれない。」と長 島・大野・常松のパートナー鈴木謙介は言う。しかし、重要なのは内報 者がその情報が不正行為につながるということを知っていたということ が証明されなければならないということであるが、これは非常に困難で ある。 投資銀行の上級社内弁護士は「現在施行されている日本のインサイ ダー規制は既に野村のような証券会社で起こったようなことを禁止して いる。」ということを再認識させる。さらには、既存の刑法の原則の下、 違反者へのインサイダー情報の提供は犯罪行為の「幇助」を構成する可 能性があり、従って罰を受ける可能性がある。また彼は証券ブローカー を規律する日本の規制には企業行動指針があり、とりわけ、証券会社が 上場企業の価格に敏感な非公開情報を管理下に置き、クライアントに ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

そのような情報を提供することで勧誘しないよう要求しているというこ とを強調する。 既に法律に書かれている制裁の存在について詳細に述べ、鈴木はイ ンサイダー取引規制が1980年代に初めて導入されて以来、この行為に対 し適用される刑事罰がどんどん重くなっており、今や「金融商品取引法 の下最も厳格なレベルとなっている。」と指摘した。しかし、インサイダ ー取引で刑事上の有罪とされた者は誰もいない。 これは近い将来改善される可能性がある。7月下旬、元SMBC日興証 券の銀行員である吉岡宏芳 がインサイダー取引の容疑で逮捕された。 彼は2008年以来、日本の大手証券会社からそのような容疑で拘束され たの初めての個人となった。吉岡と他の三人はSMBC日興証券に雇用さ れている間に2011年にインサイダー取引に関わったとして告発されてい る。 証券取引等監視委員会と横浜検察官が現在容疑を捜査中であり、 吉岡が有罪となれば、5年以下の服役と5億円以下の過料が科されるこ とになる。 「これは幇助や教唆の概念がインサイダー取引に採用され、 顧客に内部情報を渡した証券会社の社員が刑事罰を科せられた初めて のケースかもしれない。」と鈴木は言う。 会社法 金融商品取引法は直接インサイダー取引規則を扱う法律であるが、 国会議員や政府高官は、会社法は会社手続きを取り扱っているのでコ

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This could change in the near future. In late June, a former SMBC Nikko Securities banker, Hiroyoshi Yoshioka, was arrested for suspected insider trading. He became the first individual from a major Japanese brokerage to be detained under such charges since 2008.

He and three others are accused of being involved in insider transactions while employed at SMBC Nikko in 2011. The SESC and Yokohama prosecutors are currently investigating the charge and if Yoshioka is found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of five million yen. “This might be the first case where the aiding and abetting concept will be employed on insider trading to criminally penalise securities firm personnel tipping clients,” says Suzuki.

Companies Act Although the FI&E Act is the law directly dealing with the insider trading rules, legislators and senior officials are considering amending Japan’s Companies Act too, to further bolster corporate governance as it deals with corporate procedures. Suggested amendments to the Companies Act will force issuers and underwriters to protect existing shareholders when raising fresh equity, said Okubo, a former banker

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

with Morgan Stanley to IFR. ”Hugely dilutive follow-ons are a corporate governance issue,” he said. Key potential amendments include shortening the subscription period for follow-on stock offerings and requiring companies to hire outside, independent directors. Compared to toughening up the FI&E Act’s insider trading regulations, reforming the Companies Act is a trickier and a more time-consuming effort.

Discussions are thought to begin next fiscal year, starting April 2013. ”We are currently in talks with the Ministry of Justice to see what length of time is realistic,” said Okubo.

Can culture change?

Some legal professionals indicated a scepticism that unless the insider trading rules mete out much harsher penalties, the deeply-rooted culture of sharing information among financial institution market players would not truly change. They say the Japanese play by local rules, not international ones. “To some extent, it’s a culture thing,” says Ashurst’s Inoue. “Japan consists of very small communities and everyone knows each other in the industry. However, if the new sanctions are strong enough, that may change the picture. It really depends

Photo illustration of a transcript of a conversation between a former Daiwa salesman and Japan’s Advisory’s head Edward Brogan. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

ーポレートガバナンス強化のために日本の会社法の改正も検討してい る。会社法の改正案は新規資本調達の際に発行会社や引受会社に既存 の株主の保護を強制すると元モルガンスタンレー社の銀行員、大久保 はIFRに言った。 「極めて希薄な後続はコーポレート・ガバナンスの問題 だ。」と彼は言った。主要な改正で可能性のあるものとしては、後続の 株式公募申し込み期間を短縮したり、企業に外部の独立した取締役を 雇用するよう求めているものがある。金融商品取引法のインサイダー取 引規定の厳格化と比較し、会社法の改革はより困難で、時間がかかる作 業である。議論は来年度2013年4月を皮切りに開始すると考えられてい る。 「どのくらいの期間の長さが現実的かを見るために現在法務省と交 渉中だ。」と大久保は言った。 文化は変われるか？ 一部の法律の専門家達は、インサイダー取引規則がより厳しい罰則 を科さないかぎり、金融機関市場関係者たちに深く根付いた文化は新の 意味で変わることはないだろうと懐疑的な見方を示した。日本人は国際 社会のルールではなく、日本のルールに従うのだと彼らは言う。 「ある程 ** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

度それは文化的なものがある。」とアシャーストの井上は言う。 「日本は 非常に小さな複数のコミュニティーから形成されており、業界内では互 いにみんな知っている。しかし、新しい制裁措置が十分に強ければ、様 相が変わるかもしれない。改正内容の如何に大きくかかっている。」 他の弁護士は国際基準導入の規制努力にもかかわらず、文化が根深 く残っている例としてオリンパスのスキャンダルを挙げた。：「何年も前 に、委員会制度を採用し、監査役の独立性を高め、コーポレート・ガバ ナンスを強化する努力が行われた。しかし、オリンパスの事件を見ても わかるように、会社全体の文化が変わることはなかった。」 井上は法律の大きな改正なしに金融プレーヤー達を阻止できる自信 がないという。 「金融庁は潜在的法改正についてのグループ協議はまさ に初期段階にある。もし、改正された法律が、情報を受け取ったものがイ ンサイダー取引を構成するということを知っている情報の提供者は責任 を問われる、あるいはインサイダー取引の罪を犯していることになるとい うことを言っているだけに終わるなら、全体の様相を変えてはいない。」 と彼は言う。銀行家達にとって新株式に対する十分な需要があるか見る ためにIPO投資家候補者達に連絡するというのは日本の証券市場では

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on what the amendments end up being.”

Another lawyer cites the Olympus scandal as an example of cultures remaining stagnant despite regulatory efforts to introduce global standards: “There were efforts to enhance corporate governance years ago, with companies adapting a committee system and boosting the independence of a company auditor. But as you can see from the Olympus incident, the whole company culture never changed.”

Inoue is not very confident financial players will be deterred without significant changes to the law. “The FSA group talks are in the very initial stages about the possible amendments. If the amended law simply ends up saying only that the providers of information who knew the recipient would make inside trades can be held liable or guilty of insider trading, it does not change the whole picture,” he says. He comments that it is a very common practice in the Japanese securities market for bankers to contact prospective IPO investors to see whether

there is sufficient demand for new shares. Another Japanese lawyer who wished to remain anonymous says that it is quite common that all major market participants, including prospective buyers, know about IPOs before they are announced. The senior legal officer at the international investment bank corroborates this: “The problem is not so much about lax regulations, but is about non-compliance by some brokers with the regulations. I am not sure whether an even stricter insider regulatory regime will reduce offenders of laws in this area.”

Suzuki of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu remains a bit more optimistic. “The various corrective measures that the Japanese regulators have recently been taking on securities firms would send out a message that they will not tolerate these types of [insider trading] actions,” he says. “Through these measures, the Japanese market will hopefully regain the trust and credibility from non-Japanese investors.”

And in-house counsel at the banks and issuer companies, along

ごく一般的なやり方だと彼はコメントする。見込み客を含めた全ての主 要な市場参加者は発表される前からIPOについて知っていると他の匿名 希望の日本人弁護士は言う。 国際投資銀行の上級法務官はこれを裏付 ける。：「問題はゆるい規制にあるというよりもむしろ一部のブローカ ーが規制に従わないということにある。更に厳しいインサイダー規制体 制でもこの分野の法律違反者を削減するかわからない。」 長島・大野・常松法律事務所 の鈴木はもう少し楽観的である。 「最 近日本の規制当局が証券会社にとってきている様々な是正措置はこの ようなタイプの[インサイダー取引]行動を容認しないといったメッセージ を伝えるだろう。」と彼は言う。 「このような措置を通じて日本市場が日

本人以外の投資家たちの信用を取り戻すといいのだが。」 社外弁護士の助けを借り、銀行の社内弁護士や株式の発行企業は プロセスの加速を促進する。

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

弁護士の役割 金融庁は日本のブローカーらにコンプライアンス手続きと関連事業 分野における監査の枠組みを見直すよう正式に命令した。結果として、 １ ０の主要な議会の内部調査が公式発表されたと国際銀行の顧問弁護士 は言う。 「それらの改善計画は貿易の監視を引き締め、（内部と外部双 方の）通信のより厳重な監視と、より強化されたコンプライアンス・トレ

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with help from external counsel can aid speed the process along.

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Lawyers’ roles The FSA recently issued a formal order to have Japanese brokers review their compliance procedures and supervisory frameworks in the relevant business areas. The international bank in-house counsel says that as a result, 10 major houses’ internal assessments have been published. “Their improvement plans include a wide range of actions such as the tightening of trade surveillance, closer monitoring over communication (both internal and external), and enhanced compliance training,” he says.

With regards to insider trading regulations specifically, the in-house counsel says he does not use external law firms much. “Investment banks are already familiar with what the law says, and how it is interpreted by the courts and by commentators. The key focuses of our efforts here are to enhance internal controls and to improve compliance awareness among employees.” Suzuki agrees that in-house counsel should focus on education and training because “it’s very important that the business people have a correct understanding of what the insider trading rules are”. He notes that within the securities space, there are still some misconceptions or misinterpretations of the rules.

“For example, one of the administrative orders recently issued by the Japanese FSA mentioned a case where there was an understanding by certain business people that as long as you don’t name the issuer, even if everyone knows which company you’re talking about, it’s not insider information. This is not a correct understanding of the law,” he says. He emphasises the seriousness of the crime, and that in-house need to stress this up and down the ranks.

Suzuki also hopes that, in light of the recent scandals and tighter regulatory scrutiny, the bankers will pay more respect to their in-house lawyers and compliance professionals, and allow them to do their jobs. “The recent scandals may raise awareness of the risks involved in insider trading violations and may lead business people to double-

check with the lawyers if their actions are appropriate from a legal or compliance perspective,” he says.

The way Inoue views it, regardless of whether tippers can be sanctioned in a new, tougher law, in-house counsel can use the recent scandals as leverage to demonstrate that there are huge reputational risks related to the provision of insider information. “Even if merely providing insider information is not currently in violation of the law, in-house lawyers have a stronger position to say that these actions will harm the company due to reputational damage. For example, companies could be subjected to the cessation of business by a large customer. Now, in-house counsel have a stronger position to require employees behave more in conformity with what the laws expect. It’s not simply complying with the minimum requirements of the law, but rather to not damage the reputation of the company,” he says. Inoue also recommends that in-house counsel begin adopting procedures to control the dissemination of information, and to notify and put relevant employees on a “watch list” to ensure that they would not become involved in the sale of securities or exchange of information that may lead to insider trading.

So education and training are the key roles in-house lawyers play in bolstering its defences against further insider trading scandals.

What about private practice lawyers?

External counsel tell ALB they could play a supporting role as inhouse teams work to strengthen their compliance frameworks and procedures, and educate staff. These jobs include conducting training sessions (“especially if new insider trading rules come into force”), working with in-house on compliance manuals or guidelines, implementing new compliance measures, and advising on the treatment of insider information, among other issues. “The Japanese insider trading rules are still quite vague in certain aspects,” says Suzuki. “We can be of help to clients in advising on what the insider trading rules are and how these rules will be applied in a certain situation.”

ーニングなどの広範な行動を含む。」と彼は言う。 特にインサイダー取引規制に関しては、顧問弁護士は自分は外部の 法律事務所をあまり利用しないと言う。 「投資銀行は法律に書かれてい ること、あるいはそれが裁判所やコメンテーターに如何に解釈されて いるかは既によく知っている。ここで我々の取り組みにおいて最も重要 なのは内部統制を強化し従業員がコンプライアンス意識を高めること だ。」鈴木は「ビジネス関係者たちがインサイダー取引規制が如何なる ものか正しく理解をしていることが重要。」なので、社内弁護士は教育・ 訓練に焦点を当てるべきだということに同意した。 証券の世界ではまだ一部規則の思い違いや誤った解釈が存在すると 指摘する。 「例えば、最近日本の金融庁から発せられた行政命令あるに よると、一定のビジネス関係者からの理解が得られる場合、発行者の名 前を言わない限り、例え皆あなたがどの会社のことについて話している のかを知っていてもインサイダー情報とはならないと言及しているが、こ れは法律の正しい理解ではない。」 と彼は言う。彼は、犯罪の深刻性 を強調し、社内でもこれを強調し、降格させる必要があることを強調す る。 鈴木はまた最近のスキャンダルと一層厳格な規制の監視を踏まえ、 銀行家達が社内弁護士達やコンプライアンス専門家達にもっと敬意を 払って、彼らに仕事をさせてくれることを望んでいる。 「最近のスキャン ダルはインサイダー取引規制違反に内包されたリスクに対する認識を高 め、ビジネス関係者達は自分達の行動が法的にあるいはコンプライア ンスの面から適切であったか弁護士に再確認するようになるかもしれな い。 」と彼は言う。 井上の見解では、内報者が新しい或いはより厳格な法律により制裁 を受けるかどうかに関わらず、社内弁護士はインサイダー情報の提供に

は非常に大きな風評リスクがあるということを実証するのに最近のスキ ャンダルが活用できるという。 「例え、単にインサイダー情報を提供する ことが現在法律違反でなかったとしてもこれらの行動が評判を傷つけ会 社に悪影響を与えると言える強い立場にある。例えば、大口顧客の影響 で業務停止に追い込まれる可能性もある。今、社内弁護士は従業員達が もっと法律に従って行動するよう要求するという強い立場にある。それ は単に法律の最低必要条件に従うということではなく、むしろ会社の評 判を傷つけないためにそうするということだ。」と井上は言う 。また、井 上はインサイダー取引につながる可能性がある有価証券の公募や情報 の交換に巻き込まれないようにするために社内弁護士が、情報の普及を コントロールし、関連従業員に通知し、 「警戒リスト」に載せる手続きを 採用することを薦めている。 教育と訓練は、更なるインサイダー取引のスキャンダルへの防御を強 化するために社内弁護士達が果たす重要な役割である。では独立開業 弁護士はどうなのだろうか？ 社内弁護士チームがコンプライアンス体制とその手続きを強化し、 スタッフを教育するので自分達は補助的な役割を果たせると社外弁護 士はALBに言う。その仕事内容としては研修の実施（「特に新しいイン サイダー取引規則が施行される場合。」）、コンプライアンス・マニュア ルやガイドラインや新しいコンプライアンス施策の実施に関し社内弁 護士と連携して取り組むこと、とりわけインサイダー情報の取り扱いに ついて助言をすることが含まれる。 「日本のインサイダー取引規定はいく つかの面においてはまだかなり漠然としている。」と鈴木は言う。 「私達 はインサイダー取引規定が何であるか、そしてれらの規定がどのように 特定の状況に適用されるかについて助言するということにおいてクライ アントの役に立てる。」

** The Japanese translation is brought to you by Win-Win Language Service **

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

SPONSORED UPDATE: CHINA CAN ARBITRATION STILL OCCUR IN CHINA FOLLOWING RECENT CIETAC ANNOUNCEMENT?

CHINA

PHILIPPINES

Malaysia

SINGAPORE

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The recent announcement by CIETAC (China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission) of suspending authorization to its Shanghai and Shenzhen branches for conducting arbitrations raises serious questions for investors seeking to arbitrate in China through CIETAC. Previously, when parties to a contract chose arbitration in China through CIETAC, the common understanding was that disputes under such a contract could be resolved by CIETAC or at any of its sub-commissions in Shanghai or Shenzhen, and it was not necessary to specify the exact subcommission to conduct the arbitration. This understanding is no longer valid. In April 2012, new CIETAC Arbitration Rules were issued requiring that all CIETAC arbitrations be administered by the central Beijing commission unless the contracts specifically stated an alternative venue.

Concerned with loss of revenue, and in a clear defiance of the new rules issued by CIETAC, the Shanghai and Shenzhen sub-commissions publicly announced that they would accept arbitration cases even if the relevant contract did not specify such branches to conduct the arbitration. This action resulted in CIETAC suspending these two sub-commissions from accepting or administering arbitrations on August 1, 2012. CIETAC stated that, starting from August 1, 2012, even if the agreement provided for arbitration by the Shanghai or Shenzhen sub-commissions, disputes should still be submitted to the central Beijing commission (although seat of the arbitration could still be in Shanghai or Shenzhen).

It remains to be seen if these sub-commissions will take their case to the Chinese courts. In the meantime, it is uncertain whether parties who previously contracted to submit their disputes to CIETAC Shanghai or Shenzhen, now have to go to CIETAC Beijing. The validity of these arbitration clauses may be questioned due to a lack of clarity over the chosen arbitration body or rules (since CIETAC Shanghai published its own rules). If the disputes end up in court because the parties differ in their interpretation of the arbitration provision, there could be delays and publicity that parties were seeking to avoid by agreeing on arbitration. It is also not clear if arbitral

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awards issued by the sub-commissions would be enforceable, since both sub-commissions are suspended from administering arbitration.

Until this dispute is resolved, parties may wish to review their existing arbitration clauses and consider whether to amend the arbitration venue to ensure certainty and clarity.

Written by Jeanette Chan, Partner Wei Chen, Associate Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Hong Kong Club Building, 12th Floor 3A Chater Road, Central Hong Kong E: jchan@paulweiss.com T: +852 2846 0300

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SPONSORED UPDATE: SINGAPORE

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS: AN ENDANGERED SPECIES? OBSERVATIONS ON AIROCEAN In recent years, directors of listed companies often face difficulties in ascertaining if certain information needs to be disclosed under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA). The disclosure requirements issue came to light when three former independent directors of Airocean Group Limited (“Airocean”) were convicted of disclosure related offences under the SFA in the District Court.

The initial charges involved an announcement by the Airocean directors released via SGXNET on 25 November 2005 in which three directors were convicted of making a misleading statement (“Misleading Disclosure Charges”) whereas two of the directors were convicted of recklessly failing to disclose material information relating to the affairs of Airocean (“Non-disclosure Charges”).

However, in Madhavan Peter v Public Prosecutor and other appeals [2012], The Learned Chief Justice (CJ) tilted the balance in relation to the disclosure requirements and reversed the decision.

Ruling of the High Court In his judgment, the Learned CJ highlighted the concept of materiality and that only material information which would result in a significant change in the market price or value of an issuer’s securities is required to be disclosed.

In relation to the Non-disclosure Charges, the Learned CJ held that the misdirection lay in the District Court’s omission of the vital ingredient of “materially affect” and it was held that the purported material information that the directors were alleged to have failed to disclose was insufficient to show that the information was likely to materially affect the price or value of Airocean shares.

An interesting point to note was that the District Court was held to have erred in finding recklessness on the part of the directors due to their failure in asking for the reasons underlying the legal advice given by their lawyer. The Learned CJ clarified that clients have no duty to question their lawyer’s advice and it would not be reasonable to expect or require them to do so, unless the advice is manifestly absurd, irrational or wrong. It was

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held that far from being reckless, Airocean directors have acted properly and prudently in seeking legal advice on whether or not to disclose what it knew.

In relation to the Misleading Disclosure Charges, the Learned CJ held that the materiality test has been incorrectly applied by the District Court and that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Announcement was misleading in a material particular and that it was likely to stabilise Airocean’s share price.

The High Court decision marked the importance of the disclosure requirements set out in the SFA and the SGX listing rules.

Independent directors are strongly advised to do their own due diligence and ensure that they are always equipped with sufficient knowledge on the disclosure requirements, through seeking legal advices should any uncertainty arises and exercising independent judgment on the advice given in determining whether information should be disclosed.

Written by Ms Jane Sim Tze Chee Foreign Counsel Legal Associate (Corporate Practice) Tel: (65) 6322-2254 Fax: (65) 6534-0833 E-mail: janesim@loopartners.com.sg Ms Serene Sia Foreign Counsel Senior Legal Associate (Corporate Practice) Tel: (65) 6322-2205 Fax: (65) 6534-0833 E-mail: serenesia@loopartners. com.sg Loo & Partners LLP 16 Gemmill Lane Singapore 069254 www.loopartners.com.sg

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SPONSORED UPDATE: MALAYSIA

NEW GUIDELINES FOR COMPETITION LAW IN MALAYSIA Since the coming into force of the Malaysian Competition Act 2012 (“Act”) on 1 January 2012, the Malaysian Competition Commission (“MyCC”) has to date published 4 guidelines under the Act to assist in its administration and enforcement. They are: (a) Guidelines on Market Definition (b) Guidelines on Chapter 1 Prohibition (c) Guidelines on Chapter 2 Prohibition (c) Guidelines on Complaint Procedures (collectively, “Guidelines”).

It is interesting to note that though the position taken by MyCC is largely in sync with the competition law regimes in other countries, in certain instances, MyCC’s position appears to be stricter.

There is a safe harbour for agreements: (i) between competitors where their combined market share in the relevant market does not exceed 20%; and (ii) between non-competitors where the individual market share of each party in its respective market does not exceed 25% The notion of agreement is very broad.

Malaysian business will probably be surprised to hear that “an agreement could be found where competitors attending a business lunch listen to a proposal for a price increase without objection”. Mere presence with competitors at an industry association meeting where an anti-competitive decision was made may also be sufficient to implicate an attendance at the meeting.

The Guidelines states that businesses should be wary of simply following the prices of competitors unless the decision was made completely independently from all other competitors and there is a reasonable explanation for following each other. This position is stricter than the EU where a decision made unilaterally will fall outside the prohibition even if the decision was made without a reasonable explanation.

Exchanging current price information may be deemed anti-competitive. Further, in the case

of vertical agreements, MyCC has indicated that it will take a strong stance against minimum resale price maintenance (“RPM”).

Even maximum or recommended retail pricing which “serves as focal point” for downstream collusion may be deemed anti-competitive.

This will have significant impact on most of the vertical agreements in Malaysia.

Companies that possess dominant positions in their relevant market must be extra cautious in their business practices. Market share of above 60% would be indicative of dominance though market share alone is not conclusive.

Other factors include the degree of product differentiation, barriers to new entry, collective dominance etc. To illustrate, an enterprise with new product and new features protected by patents could be considered dominant even though it has only 20%-30% market share which is rapidly growing as consumers switch to new technology.

It is expected that more guidelines will soon be issued by MyCC. In fact, it was mentioned in the Guidelines that MyCC will issue a separate Guideline to address both intellectual property rights and franchise agreements.

This article is for information purposes only. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in individual cases. No decision to act or not to act in a particular way should be taken merely on the basis of this article, and detailed legal advice should always be sought at the earliest possible moment.

Written by Andre Gan Partner Tel: (603) 2298 7828 E-mail: andre.gan@wongpartners.com Chong Jing En Associate Tel: (603) 2298 7982 E-mail: chong.jing.en@ wongpartners.com Wong & Partners Level 21, The Gardens South Tower Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fax: (603) 2282 2669

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

SPONSORED UPDATE: PHILIPPINES PHILIPPINE ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION APPROVES FEED-IN TARIFF RATES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY The Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved on July 27, 2012 the feedin tariffs (FIT) for solar, wind, biomass and hydropower projects. The approved FITs are: Php9.68 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for solar, Php 8.53 per kWh for wind, Php 6.63 per kWh for biomass and Php 5.90 per kWh for run-ofriver hydro. The ERC deferred fixing the FIT for ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) pending further study.

In arriving at such FITs, the ERC accepted the methodology used by the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) and took into account, among others, the cost of construction and operation of the representative plants for each renewable energy (RE) technology, the generation output or capacity factors of these plants and the reasonable return on investment to be granted the RE developers.

However, the approved FITs are lower than what was proposed by the NREB, which were: Php17.95 per kWh for solar, Php 10.37 per kWh for wind, Php7 per kWh for biomass and Php 6.15 per kWh for run-of-river hydro.

The substantially lower rates, specifically for solar and wind, were arrived at after the ERC updated the construction costs to reflect the downward market trend of constructing RE plants and adopted higher capacity factors to ensure efficiency of RE plants enjoying the FITs. For all RE technologies, the ERC also adopted a lower equity internal rate of return (EIRR) of 16.44%, except for biomass, which would enjoy an EIRR of 17% to alleviate fuel risks.

Subject to certain exceptions, the FITs shall be applied only to generation facilities that will enter into commercial operation after the effectivity of the FITs or to such parts of existing facilities that have been substantially modified or expanded as described under the FIT rules. Further, to encourage RE companies to invest at the initial stage and hasten the deployment of RE, the FITs shall be subject to a degression rate to be approved by the ERC. The degression rate recommended by the NREB is 6%.

The approved FITs shall also be subject to review and adjustment after an initial implementation period of three (3) years or when the installation targets for each

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technology as set by the Department of Energy have already been met. The DOE has approved a 3-year installation target of 250 megawatts (MW) for run-of river hydro, 250 MW for biomass, 50 MW for solar, 200 MW for wind and 10 MW for OTEC.

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CHINA

Written by

PHILIPPINES

Arlene M. Maneja SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan 7/F SyCipLaw Center 105 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City, Philippines Tel: (632) 982-3500, 982-3600, 982-3700 Fax: (632) 817-3145, 817-3896 http://www.syciplaw.com

Malaysia

SINGAPORE

University students majoring in Korean traditional dance wear traditional costumes as they dance during the grand Confucian ceremony of Seokjeon at a shrine at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

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EMERGING MARKETS

EMPLOYMENT

REGULATORY TRENDS FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAMBODIA

T

he residential housing market in Cambodia, particularly in Phnom Penh, is on the rise. New developments and renovation projects can be found across the capital as developers attempt to provide housing options for Cambodian residents, foreign investors and the expatriate community.

In an effort to encourage and protect the investments of homebuyers before construction is complete, the Cambodian Government created a regulatory scheme on December 15, 2009 for real estate developers under the Prakas on Housing Development (“Housing Development Prakas”).

The Housing Development Prakas, inter alia, requires developers to obtain a development license prior to construction. Developers are classified into three groups: (i) a residential developer with adequate funds to complete construction without advance deposits from purchasers; (ii) a residential developer who receives foreign funds or financing from financial institutions to complete the development; and (iii) a developer who uses advance deposits from customers to finance the development, or any developer who otherwise falls outside groups (i) or (ii).

All developers are required to create a housing development account at a local commercial bank to hold any advance deposits from purchasers. This housing development account requirement applies regardless of whether the project contemplates units for sale or for rent. In addition, developers in group (iii) must deposit and maintain two percent of the total cost of the project into the account or secure a letter of credit or guarantee for the same amount until the project is completed.

The requirements above pose a significant hurdle to group (iii) developers constructing residential units for rent. As typically no deposits come from renters before the completion of the development, the housing development account and the two percent reserve fund become difficult requirements for these developers.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (“MEF”) has taken steps to remedy this regulatory pitfall. Recently, the MEF released a draft Law on Housing Development (“Draft Law”). The Draft Law provides that a development license is required for the development of residential units for sale only. Thus, under the Draft Law, a development license, a housing development account, and a reserve fund are not required for developers intending to construct residential units for rent. The Draft Law is currently under public review by the MEF, and has yet to be approved as law by the Council of Ministers.

Unless significant changes are made to the Draft Law before it is adopted, the exclusion of such developers seeking to construct residential units for rent from the scope of development license regulations is a welcome development and reflects the Cambodian Government’s attempts to streamline the regulatory process and grow the residential market in Cambodia.

DOUG OTA E: doug.ota@kcpartnership.com

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

RINA ING E: rina.ing@kcpartnership.com

RESTRAINT OF TRADE SINGAPORE COURT HOLDS “FORFEITURE-FORCOMPETITION” CLAUSE UNENFORCEABLE

I

n Mano Vikrant Singh v Cargill TSF Asia Pte Ltd [2012] SGCA 42, the Singapore Court of Appeal (“CA”) has held that a clause under which deferred incentive awards to an employee would be forfeited if he competed with the company (“Forfeiture-forcompetition clause”) was a restraint of trade.

“Forfeiture-for-competition” vs “Payment-forloyalty” It was argued that the Forfeiture-for-competition clause was akin to Payment-for-loyalty clauses which have been held to be valid and enforceable – both provide for financial disincentives against competition but an employee is free to choose whether or not he wants to compete.

The CA held that such clauses can be distinguishable from each other by considering (i) what the benefit was given for, and (ii) why and in what circumstances the benefit could be withheld under the clause.

The CA found that: • the benefit in this case was a vested entitlement of the employee at the time he entered into the Forfeiture-for-competition clause.

In Payment-for-loyalty clauses, the financial benefit is not vested at the time of entering into the clause, but in the future contingent upon continued employment.

• the Forfeiture-for-competition clause deprived the employee of a right which had already vested, if the employee competed. Under a Payment-for-loyalty clause, an employee is free to choose whether or not to continue in the employment of the employer in order to earn the loyalty payment.

• the relevant question is whether, how and what effect the Forfeiture-for-competition clause has on the actions of the employee and his ability to exercise his skill and contribute to the market post-employment. In this case, the Forfeiture-forcompetition clause purported to govern the employee’s postemployment behaviour.

• the CA also stated that it does not automatically follow that Forfeiture-for-competition clauses should be void and unenforceable. If the employer can demonstrate it has a legitimate proprietary interest which requires protection, the clause might be valid if it satisfies the twin test of reasonableness i.e. it is reasonable both in the interests of the parties and of the public.

Conclusion As always, care must be taken in drafting post-employment restrictive covenants which are reasonable for both employer and employee. Employers may yet be able to construct a clause for an incentive payment which vests only in the future on the happening of an event (for example, on the employee completing a competitionfree period), again taking care to ensure that the restrictions on trade are reasonable.

SUSAN DE SILVA, Partner T: +65 6428 9818 E: susan.desilva@twobirds.com W: www.twobirds.com

TONY QUEK, Associate T: +65 6428 9896 E: tony.quek@twobirds.com W: www.twobirds.com

ATMD Bird & Bird LLP is a Singapore law practice registered as a limited liability partnership in Singapore. The firm is associated with Bird & Bird, an international legal practice. It is solely a Singapore law practice and is not an affiliate, branch or subsidiary of Bird & Bird or Bird & Bird LLP.

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international tax

Whistleblower receives US$104 million reward for exposing UBS tax fraud The US authorities rewarded former UBS Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfield with a record sum of US$104 million for exposing the Swiss bank’s tax fraud.

“This is believed to be the largest reward ever given to an individual whistleblower in the United States and the first major reward issued under the IRS tax whistleblower law,” quoted the US National Whistleblowers Centre.

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Birkenfeld had provided the US Government with “insider information on UBS’s illegal offshore banking scheme” and his disclosures led to UBS paying a US$780 million fine to the US. Birkenfeld who knew the inner workings of UBS- a poacher turned gamekeeper- revealed many secrets about his former employer’s dealings with US clients. However, he was jailed after the government said that he withheld other information and he spent 30 months in prison (however his approx reward per month whilst in prison was US$3.5m!).

Experts say that this unprecedented move will encourage whistleblowers to step up and report any wrongdoing in organizations, especially banks and investment managers.

Most tax authorities in western jurisdictions, and also China, have programmes to pay large rewards for reporting information on tax evaders.

For example, do you want to earn some extra cash by calling the IRS whistleblower programme? Telephone +866 775 7474; read www.irs.gov/individuals/taxshelter-hotline, or email irs.taxshelter.hotline@irs. gov! They will pay a reward based on 30% of the undeclared US taxes collected.

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

Country / Regional editors

The Country / Regional Updates section of ALB is sponsored by the following firms:

China

Malaysia

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a globally oriented, full-service law firm employing over 700 lawyers worldwide. Paul, Weiss is headquartered in New York and has offices in Tokyo, Washington, D.C., Wilmington, Beijing, Hong Kong, Toronto and London.

Wong & Partners is a Malaysian law firm dedicated to providing a quality and solution-oriented legal services to its clients. Wong & Partners has grown steadily with international standards of quality and experience and the Firm has a solid commitment to training its lawyers, and invests in training, professional development and quality management programs with the aim of producing lawyers of global standard.

The Philippines

Singapore

Established in 1945, SyCipLaw is the largest law firm in the Philippines, with its principal office in Makati City, the country’s financial and business center, and branches in Cebu, Davao and Subic Bay. SyCipLaw combines its tradition of professional integrity and excellence with a time-tested ability to break new ground. The broad range of the firm’s expertise is reflected in its client base, which includes top corporations, international organizations and governments.

Loo & Partners was founded in 1985 as a niche practice, handling mainly banking, corporate, securities and commercial work. With the support of a comprehensive network of correspondent law firms, the firm serves its clients in their regional needs. Loo & Partners has been regularly noted for its IPO, M&A and general corporate work.

Vietnam

Shanghai

Indochine Counsel is a commercial law firm focusing on business law practice in the Indochina region. Our areas of practice include: Foreign Investment, Corporate & Commercial, M&A, Securities & Capital Markets, Banking & Finance, Property & Construction, Taxation, Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Internet, International Trade, Outward Investment & Offshore Incorporation, and Dispute Resolution.

Victory Legal is a boutique legal practice in Shanghai, focusing on general corporate, corporate finance and capital markets matters. Its clients include governmental authorities, State-linked enterprises, banking and financial institutions, MNCs, SMEs and foreign law firms. The firm has extensive network across the region. It serves clients’ domestic and regional needs.

fUIJIAN Sphere Logic Partners is a mid-sized business law firm known for its offering of value, sophisticated legal solutions in a leaner approach across a range of practice areas, critical to the success of clients. We maintain an established global network with numerous law firms and relevant service providers. Our seasoned and cultureready professionals assist clients in cross-border investment, M&A and financing, governance and daily operations, identification of business opportunities and solving of complex legal disputes.

PRACTICE AREA AND INDUSTRY EDITORS

tHE iNDUSTRY uPDATES section of ALB is sponsored by the following firms:

Emerging Markets Kelvin Chia Partnership is a commercial law firm headquartered in Singapore with strong regional capabilities. With offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon, Bangkok and Phnom Penh, and extensive experience all throughout Asia, we provide localized legal solutions consistent with international standards in emerging markets in Asia.

Intellectual property / Energy & Resources / Employment ATMD Bird & Bird is a dynamic and progressive firm with an established IP, corporate & commercial, competition and dispute resolution practice. The firm also has extensive regional experience advising both domestic and foreign clients on cross-border transactions. ATMD Bird & Bird has been voted Singapore’s Intellectual Property Firm of the Year at the 2005 and 2006 ALB Awards and the 2005 AsiaLaw (IP) Awards.

International tax AzureTax Ltd provides transparent strategic and ethical tax advice. Through our professional corporate and International, tax advisory and trustee services your tax plan is comprehensively implemented. Our advice provides you with independent innovative and rigorous solutions which deliver results and long-term accountability.

We are qualified UK, U.S., Hong Kong and PRC tax advisors and complete tax filings for UK, U.S. and Hong Kong tax returns.

Alliances

ALB enjoys alliances with the following organisations:

ACCJ

CCCJ

Established in 1948 by representatives of 40 American firms, the ACCJ, a fully independent chamber of commerce, has grown into one of the most influential business organizations in Japan, with more than 2,700 members representing more than forty countries and 1,000 companies.

Promoting the development of commerce between Canada and Japan since 1975, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ) is a private sector, not-for-profit business organization serving its members through communications, networking and advocacy. Representing some 33 business sectors, the CCCJ is a member-driven, member-focused organization and is the longest serving Canadian Chamber in Asia with over 300 members.

JICN

HKCCA

The Japan In-house Counsel Network (JICN) is a professional association for in-house counsel working in, or having other affiliations with, Japan. JICN offers a forum for communication between members, social and networking opportunities, legal seminars, roundtable member discussions and other activities, as well as events with other lawyer and in-house groups. Visit www.jicn.jp for more details.

The Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association is the pioneer association run for in-house counsel by in-house counsel in Hong Kong. It provides an efficient and effective range of benefits and services for its members’ professional development, including continuing legal education, a platform for networking and the exchange of ideas, information and experiences that are unique to the in-house role.

ssca The Singapore Corporate Counsel Association or SCCA was set up in 2002. It is the pioneer association representing in-house lawyers in Singapore. http://www.scca.org.sg

Corporate SCCA Singapore Counsel Association

IPBA 2012 New Delhi - India

SUNDRIES

WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM : @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

63

Compiled by RANAJIT DAM

VALUE OF THE LAWSUIT FILED BY HONG KONG ACTOR-DIRECTOR STEPHEN CHOW'S (S$11.2 MILLION) IN COMMISSION HE ALLEGEDLY OWED HER ON THE PROFITS SHE BROUGHT HIM WHEN SHE WAS HIS FINANCIAL ADVISER.

LAWYER GOES SHIRTLESS IN PROTEST Channeling popular resentment in India directed at recent price rise and fuel rate hikes, lawyer Santosh Kumar Suman decided on a rather unique form of protest in New Delhi against the Indian prime minister: He took his shirt off. As Manmohan Singh prepared to make his speech at the high security Vigyan REUTERS/B Mathur Bhawan, Suman climbed on to the table, took off his shirt and shouted thrice in quick succession — "PM go back! Roll back diesel price hike!" It took some 30 seconds for the stunned security personnel to react, though, but they ultimately whisked him out of the venue. However, Suman wasn’t completely topless; he had a vest on underneath. We’ve known lawyers to get a bit shirty while pleading their case, but getting shirtless is in a different league altogether.

PUBLISHERS’ LAWSUIT SPARKS OUTRAGE According to students of India’s Delhi University, publishers Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press are “criminals”. Their crimes? The publishers have filed a lawsuit seeking a ban on photocopying of their books, alleging that a shop in the university hands out “course materials”, which are essentially photocopies of books that are recommended reading. The students now want cheaper books, having accused the publishers “of bullying and stifling of democratic student culture”. Copyright aside, the moral grandstanding and rhetoric are a bit rich when you remember that books cost half (and sometimes a quarter) as they do anywhere else, and text books are available at less than a fraction of the cost. Who’re the criminals now, then?

REUTERS/Bobby Yip

EX-GIRLFRIEND ALICE YU AGAINST CHOW FOR THE

Attorney salaries: A global comparison CHINA TOPS THE LIST OF AVERAGE ATTORNEY SALARIES IN A SELECTION OF COUNTRIES

COUNTRY

SALARY IN US$

CHINA

146,954

UAE

104,733

U.S.

94,076

AUSTRALIA

74,078

INDIA

36,565

Source: LLM Info. See www.llminfo.com for the full list.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“THE LAW DOES NOT DEFINE THE VARIOUS STAGES OF KISSING.” Singapore lawyer Chia Boon Teck tells AsiaOne that the point at which public kissing might be considered obscene or indecent in the Lion City is unknown.

INDEX

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS october 2012

A-H Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

10

Anderson, Mori & Tomotsune

10

Appleby

13, 22-28

Ashurst

13, 40-54

Azure Tax Bedell Cristin

61 22-28

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft

11

Clifford Chance

4

Clyde & Co

14-21

CWL Partners

13

Davis Polk & Wardwell

4

Deacons

4

DLA Piper

13

DVB Bank

14-21

Eversheds

10

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer4, 13, 30-39 30-39

4

Herbert Smith

13

I-P

Q-Z Quisumbing Torres

30-39

Rajah & Tann

14-21

Reed Smith

Jingtian & Gongcheng

4

Jun He Law Offices

4

Kelvin Chia Partnership

60

King & Wood Mallesons

4, 13

Latham & Watkins

13, 30-39

Loo & Partners

57

Maples and Calder

22-28

Nagashima, Ohno & Tsunematsu 10, 40-54 Ogier

22-28

Oon & Bazul

14-21

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Paul Hastings

4

4, 30-39

Paul Weiss

56

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Fulbright& Jaworski

Hengeler Mueller

REUTERS/Bobby Yip

64

13

Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura

30-39

Sayoc & de los Angeles Ropes & Gray

13

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

4, 10

Squire Sanders

13

Stephenson Harwood

13

Sullivan & Cromwell

4, 10

SyCip Law

30-39, 59

Walkers

13, 22-28

White & Case

4

Wikborg Rein

14-21

Withers

22-28

Wong & Partners

58

Yokogawa Engineering Asia

7

SEOUL 2012

IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT JW MARRIOTT SEOUL – 4 DECEMBER

ALB brings Asia’s most respected legal summit series to Seoul in December 2012.

This special event is tailored to bring together leading senior-level corporate counsel, business leaders and private practice lawyers from South Korea, Asia and the rest of the world.

Focused and interactive practice area workshops, plenary sessions and panel discussions provide a forum for the frank exchange of views, the sharing of best practices and the formation of strategies to help you overcome the challenges of 2013 and beyond.

REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

GET CONNECTED

Why you should attend: · In-depth workshops focusing on the latest legal issues presented by top domestic and international law firms · Updates on the vital role of in-house counsel in business · Opportunities to network and meet leading legal experts and peers · VIP networking luncheon & refreshments For more information, please contact Tracy at +852 3762 3262 or email tracy.li@thomsonreuters.com WWW.ASIANLEGALBUSINESSEVENTS.COM

WORKSHOP SPONSORS

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

STAY UP-TO-DATE

Seoul IHLS 2012HP ad.indd 1

28/9/12 3:58 PM

CHINA INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND TRADE ARBITRATION COMMISSION

CHINA’S EXPERIENCE IN

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION INTERNATIONAL IMAGE OF

CHINESE ARBITRATION CHINA INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND TRADE ARBITRATION COMMISSION Announcement On the Administration of Cases Agreed to be Arbitrated by CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission and CIETAC South China Sub-Commission The 2012 Arbitration Rules of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission came into effect as of 1 May 2012. Yet, as branch offices of CIETAC, the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission and the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission (originally named the CIETAC Shenzhen Sub-Commission) refuse to apply the CIETAC Arbitration Rules (2012), and refuse to remain under the leadership of CIETAC in respect of case administration. Such conduct violates the basic principles provided in the CIETAC Articles of Association and the CIETAC Arbitration Rules (2012) that CIETAC and its Sub-Commissions form an integrated arbitration institution and that the SubCommissions conduct arbitration business under the authorization of CIETAC. In order to ensure the effective realization of parties’ autonomy in choosing CIETAC for arbitration, safeguard the exercise of parties’ arbitration rights and facilitate the effective resolution of parties’ disputes through CIETAC arbitration, CIETAC hereby announces the following decisions in accordance with the CIETAC Articles of Association (2012) and CIETAC Arbitration Rules (2012): 1. As from 1 August 2012, CIETAC’s authorization to the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission and the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission for accepting and administering arbitration cases is hereby suspended.

2. As from 1 August 2012, where parties have agreed to arbitrate their disputes by the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission or the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission (the CIETAC Shenzhen Sub-Commission), the parties shall submit their applications for arbitration to CIETAC and the CIETAC Secretariat shall accept such arbitration applications and administer such cases. Without CIETAC’s authorization, no institutions shall have the right to accept and administer the afore-mentioned arbitration cases.

3. When the CIETAC Secretariat accepts and administers the above-mentioned cases, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, for cases agreed to be arbitrated by the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission, the place of arbitration and the place of oral hearing shall be Shanghai; for cases agreed to be arbitrated by the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission (the CIETAC Shenzhen Sub-Commission), the place of arbitration and the place of oral hearing shall be Shenzhen.

4. For information and consultation about the afore-mentioned cases, please contact the CIETAC Secretariat at the following: Shanghai: Tel: 86-21-58200329 | Fax: 86-21-50810965 | Email: infosh@cietac.org Shenzhen: Tel: 86-755-82796739 | Fax: 86-755-23964130 | Email: infosz@cietac.org Beijing: Tel: 86-10-82217788 | Fax: 86-10-82217766 | Email: info@cietac.org China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission

Address: 6/F, CCOIC Building, 2 Huapichang Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing 100035, P.R.China Telephone: (86-10) 8221 7788 | Fax: (86-10) 8221 7766 64643500