To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will resume posting material following the festive period on 9 January 2023 although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
Institutional investors collaborate with each other when communicating with investee companies’ management regarding, for example, ESG matters. Such shareholder collaboration leads to challenges in multiple legal areas. Minimising such legal risk is key. NRF’s Shareholder Collaboration Tool allows Institutional investors to confidently collaborate, while reducing the burden on legal teams to manage the associated risks. … Continue Reading
To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Easter. We will resume posting material on 26 April although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
Another COVID-19 insurance case comes to a close, at least for now, with the Full Federal Court handing down its decision in Star Entertainment Group Limited v Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd [2022] FCAFC 16. The Full Federal Court also handed down its decision in the second business interruption test case appeal. For our related articles: … Continue Reading
To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will resume posting material following the festive period on 6 January 2021 although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
The overriding intention of South Africa’s Competition Amendment Bill of 2018, introduced in parliament on 12 July 2018, is to address perceived high levels of concentration and the skewed ownership profile of the South African economy. The competition authorities have consistently expressed concerns about the large number of dominant firms operating in the economy which … Continue Reading
A controversial introduction in the latest draft of South Africa’s Competition Amendment Bill of 2018 is the inclusion of a section that requires the State President to constitute a standing committee of cabinet ministers and public officials to consider whether a merger, involving a foreign acquiring firm, will be adverse to national security interests in … Continue Reading
A revised draft of the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill was tabled in Parliament in February 2017. See our previous post on the major changes to the original draft published for public comment in August 2015. At the beginning of July 2017, the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services called for public comments on the revised draft. The original … Continue Reading
A trust is an arrangement that allows someone to hold assets (without owning them) for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries. The key element of the trust arrangement is the transfer of ownership and control of the trust assets from the donor or founder to one or more trustees who hold the trust assets not … Continue Reading
A number of jurisdictions have local stakeholder requirements for private companies. South Africa has a hybrid system where there are local requirements (so that some positions can only be held by South African citizens or residents). Directors A South African private company must have at least one director but there is no requirement that this … Continue Reading
Restructuring of companies in financial distress is on the increase globally. In line with this trend, Mozambican Insolvency Law (Decree law No 1/2013) provides greater protection to debtor companies in financial distress and gives them an opportunity to reorganise and restructure while continuing to operate their businesses. The law covers three procedures namely judicial reorganisation … Continue Reading
A non-profit company is a company incorporated for one or more objects, either a public benefit or an object relating to cultural or social activities, or communal or group interests. The name of the non-profit company must end with the expression “NPC” (eg Good Deeds NPC). A non-profit company may be incorporated with or without … Continue Reading
In South Africa a company is recognised as a legal entity separately from its shareholders. Any claims arising from the company’s activities would be brought against the company itself and not against its holding company or shareholders. The statutory liability of a shareholder in a private company is limited to its respective capital contributions to … Continue Reading
Foreign companies with business or non-profit activities in South Africa may be required to register with the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) as an external company. Section 23 of the Companies Act 2008 provides that a foreign company must register within 20 business days of first beginning to “conduct business” in South Africa. A company … Continue Reading
The question arises how businesses should prepare for the introduction of carbon tax in South Africa on 1 January 2016, when the legislation has not been released. There are clues in the carbon tax policy paper released in 2013 by National Treasury about what we can expect to see in terms of the pricing of carbon and … Continue Reading
Have a look at our Doing business in South Africa publication for an overview of the legal issues relevant to foreign investors wishing to establish or acquire a business in South Africa. South Africa has highly sophisticated financial, mining, commercial, and industrial sectors which compete with the best throughout the world and attract considerable interest … Continue Reading
The South African national budget speech was delivered on 25 February 2015 by the Minister of Finance, Minister Nene. Have a look at our tax team’s review of the South African National Budget 2015.… Continue Reading
Africa’s diversity is reflected in its legal systems. The following legal curiosities give a taste of what makes the continent such an interesting, and sometimes challenging, place to transact. Did you know? A Nigerian guarantor cannot make payment under a guarantee denominated in South African Rand without a Certificate of Capital Importation. This is issued … Continue Reading
Direito do Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra (DUAT) There is no private ownership of land in Mozambique. Land and its associated resources are the property of the State. The Land Law, however, grants private persons the right to use and benefit from the land known as Direito do Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra (DUAT). Although … Continue Reading
