Reading Time: 11 minutesIntroduction After close to 4 years of negotiations,[1] the hugely anticipated ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) has finally been set in stone.[2] Along with the accompanying ASEAN-Hong Kong Investment Agreement (AHKIA), the two agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN summit in the Philippines. [3]Historical background and the rationale for a […]
Reading Time: 18 minutesIn a decision rendered by George Wei J of the Singapore High Court dated 8 December 2017, the High Court upheld the validity of the Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials CMP Holdings, Inc’s patent, granted a declaration of the said patent’s validity, as well as a declaration that the asserted claims of the patent were […]
Reading Time: 19 minutesIntroduction At a press conference on 9 August 1965, moments after Singapore gained independence, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew proclaimed, “This is not a Malay nation; this is not a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation. Everybody will have his place.”[1] This statement set the stage for Singapore’s development as a multiracial […]
Reading Time: 15 minutesIntroduction The duty of contracting parties to cooperate in the performance of commercial contracts is at once both intuitive and utterly foreign. On the one hand, all commercial relationships require a degree of trust, and a party may reasonably expect that the other is committed to working together to carry out their bargain.[1] This applies […]
Reading Time: 2 minutesOn 22 November 2018, the Thai Revenue Department (TRD) took another significant step towards tightening its transfer pricing compliance and enforcement regime with the release of “the Additional Revision of the Thai Revenue Code No.47 (TRC47)”. Over the past five years, based on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) initiatives of the OECD, many jurisdictions […]
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe story In 60 Seconds Proposed amendments to the Employment Act (“EA“) include the enhancement of the existing employment dispute resolution framework. This includes empowering the Employment Claims Tribunal (“ECT“) to adjudicate wrongful dismissal claims, in addition to salary-related disputes, with effect from 1 April 2019. Read with other tabled changes to the EA, the […]
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Employment Act (EA) is Singapore’s main labour law which provides the basic terms and working conditions for all employee. On 5th March this year, the Ministry of Manpower announced plans to expand the fundamental coverage of the EA. This was a response to a fast-changing workforce where the number of PMETs (professionals, managers, executives […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesIntroduction On 6 September 2018, the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) commenced proceedings in the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) against three companies and two individuals – Mr Chan and Mr Lam in relation to the provision of renovation services at a subsidised housing estate in San Po Kong. Notably, this is the first time that the […]
Reading Time: 17 minutes“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32 “I discovered at a very early age that if I talk long enough, I can make anything right or wrong. So either I’m God or truth is relative” Jeff Winger, “Community: Pilot Episode” (NBC, 2009) Introduction While the recent attacks […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesIntroduction The Employment (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2018 (the “Amendment Ordinance”) was passed by the Legislative Council on 17 May 2018 and took effect on 19 October 2018. Under the Amendment Ordinance, the Labour Tribunal is empowered to make an order for reinstatement or re-engagement of an employee in the event of unreasonable and unlawful […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction In our Newsletter in June 2017, we discussed the judgment of the Court of First Instance (“CFI”) in Leung Chun Kwong v Secretary for the Civil Service and Another HCAL 258/2015, where the CFI ruled that the Hong Kong Government should grant the same spousal benefits to employees in same-sex marriages as those enjoyed by their heterosexual […]
Reading Time: 7 minutesIntroduction The key question posed in the recent Singapore High Court decision of Sun Electric Pte Ltd v Sunseap Group Pte Ltd (“Sun Electric (No 2)”)[1] was whether the High Court had jurisdiction at first instance to revoke a patent by way of a counterclaim in infringement proceedings. George Wei J’s response to this query […]
