Post by Sapphire Capital on Jul 25, 2008 21:48:54 GMT 4
Asian corporates can't cope with compliance
24 July 2008
Corporate counsel in Asia are struggling to deal with a myriad of new laws and regulations, according to an IFLR poll.
The poll, which will appear in the August edition of the magazine and on IFLR's website next week, reveals that a majority of legal teams in Asia find compliance overwhelming.
China was singled out by respondents as a particularly difficult jurisdiction. The country has recently issued the PRC Companies Law, the Bankruptcy Law and the Anti-Monopoly Law. Even Hong Kong has published burdensome legislation; many respondents identified the Disclosure of Interest Rule as particularly concerning.
Implementing these laws is distracting counsel from improving corporate governance. As IFLR's Asian Bankers' Counsel Poll revealed in October, in-house lawyers often find it hard to implement head office guidelines across the region. Corruption is also a problem in some jurisdictions.
Lax corporate governance, however, is not just an issue for corporate counsel. It could expose companies to aggressive investors, such as the short-selling hedge funds that have been active in Europe.
24 July 2008
Corporate counsel in Asia are struggling to deal with a myriad of new laws and regulations, according to an IFLR poll.
The poll, which will appear in the August edition of the magazine and on IFLR's website next week, reveals that a majority of legal teams in Asia find compliance overwhelming.
China was singled out by respondents as a particularly difficult jurisdiction. The country has recently issued the PRC Companies Law, the Bankruptcy Law and the Anti-Monopoly Law. Even Hong Kong has published burdensome legislation; many respondents identified the Disclosure of Interest Rule as particularly concerning.
Implementing these laws is distracting counsel from improving corporate governance. As IFLR's Asian Bankers' Counsel Poll revealed in October, in-house lawyers often find it hard to implement head office guidelines across the region. Corruption is also a problem in some jurisdictions.
Lax corporate governance, however, is not just an issue for corporate counsel. It could expose companies to aggressive investors, such as the short-selling hedge funds that have been active in Europe.