Tag: South Africa

Competition Amendment Bill 2018 aims to protect market participation of non-dominant firms

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

SA poised to follow suit in utilisation of non-competition merger control to protect State security in foreign mergers

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

Asset management in South Africa – Ten things to know

1. Licensing of asset managers South African asset managers must register as financial service providers (FSPs) with the Financial Services Board (FSB) under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS). Any person carrying on asset management business in South Africa, or from abroad directed at South African clients, whether in a discretionary or non-discretionary capacity … Continue Reading

South Africa: POPI regulations published for comment

The South African Information Regulator published draft regulations under the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI) for public comment by 7 November 2017. The regulations cover various procedural items, including: the manner of objecting to the processing of personal information; requests for correction or deletion of personal information; the application form for industry codes of conduct; … Continue Reading

South Africa: Twin Peaks signed into law

The Financial Sector Regulation Bill was signed into law by President Zuma on 21 August 2017. The commencement dates for the new Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSR Act) are not yet known. The act provides the architecture for the new ‘twin peaks’ method of regulation to be adopted across the South African financial services industry, and is … Continue Reading

South Africa: Licence restrictions as deprivation of property

A licence restriction in legislation is not a deprivation of property for the purposes of section 25 of the Bill of Rights unless the right that has been taken away from licensees constitutes a right or interest worthy of protection and is substantial enough that its removal constitutes deprivation. The SA Diamond Producers Organisation complained that … Continue Reading

South Africa: Comment on the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill extended to 10 August 2017

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

South Africa: Law Commission report on medico-legal claims for comment by 30 September 2017

The South African Law Reform Commission has issued a lengthy paper on the investigations into medico-legal claims with proposals for the reform of the law in connection with those claims. The paper discusses the current situation and the legal principles underlying claims for damages for medical negligence, state liability, the basis for payment of compensation (including some … Continue Reading

South Africa: Sugar tax

Before purchasing a sugar sweetened beverage (SSB), spare one thought for the health consequences and another for your wallet. Late 2017 is likely to see the introduction of a new tax in South Africa in the form of a health promotion levy (or sugar tax). Empirical evidence suggests that the quality of human health has … Continue Reading

Will South Africa get reciprocal reinsurance arrangements?

The FSB’s Reinsurance Regulatory Review Position Paper in September 2016 sketches a reinsurance regime by which foreign reinsurers wishing to reinsure South African risks will have to register as a licensed branch in South Africa unless the foreign reinsurer is regulated by a country with an equivalent regulatory framework according to the FSB. Presumably the … Continue Reading

South Africa: POPI Regulator to commence duties on 1 December 2016

The functions of the Information Regulator include: to provide education about the Protection of Personal Information Act, for example, giving advice to data subjects in the exercise of their rights; to monitor and enforce compliance with POPI; to consult with interested parties; to handle complaints; to conduct research and to report to Parliament; to issue … Continue Reading

South Africa: Members of Information Regulator for POPI voted by Parliament

On Wednesday, 7 September 2016, the National Assembly approved the nomination of advocate Pansy Tlakula as the Chairperson of the Information Regulator for the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI). Four other appointments that were approved – full-time members Advocate Lebogang Stroom and Johannes Weapond; and part-time members Professor Tana Pistorius and Sizwe Snail. … Continue Reading

South Africa: Is anti-competitive behaviour insurable?

The August 2016 first-of-its-kind judgment against South African Airways in favour of Nationwide Airlines, for damages arising from conduct that was held to be an anti-competitive exclusionary act preventing Nationwide from entering into or expanding within the travel market, raises the interesting question whether the loss is insurable by the company and the directors. SAA … Continue Reading

South Africa: ICASA approval required for changes of licensee control

Any change of control in an entity which holds an individual electronic communications service licence, individual electronic communications network service licence or radio frequency spectrum licence requires the prior written permission of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Radio frequency spectrum licences The Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations 2015 set out the process which … Continue Reading

WhatsApp faces possible regulation in South Africa

The parliamentary telecommunications and postal services portfolio committee will hold a meeting on “Over-The-Top” (OTT) services on 26 January 2016 with a view to possibly regulating them. Popular OTT services include WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and Skype. Some mobile networks feel it is unfair that these services generate profits by riding on the back of infrastructure paid … Continue Reading

South Africa’s Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill introduces Cyberlaundering – with far reaching implications

Commendably, South Africa’s new Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill proposes that we take a bold step ahead of contemporary laws across Africa and beyond. Pertinently, clause 19(1) of the Bill proscribes the novel concept of cyberlaundering. Cyberlaundering is the use of a computer to perform or assist an unlawful financial transaction or a relationship involving property … Continue Reading

South African private company stakeholder requirements

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

New structures to fight cybercrime in South Africa

Cybercrime happens at the speed of broadband with criminals able to easily move the tools of their activities from one location to another. Successfully combatting cybercrime therefore requires real time detection and investigation, often by different agencies in different countries. Cybercrime has exploded internationally in the past several years in tandem with the surge of … Continue Reading

10 things to know about South African non-profit companies

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

South Africa: Financial institutions will also be obliged to inform clients of cybercrime trends

The draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill has been published for public comment in South Africa. The draft bill in its current form imposes obligations on “electronic communications service providers” to inform its clients of cybercrime trends and to establish procedures to report such crimes. The definition of an “electronic communications service provider” includes not only … Continue Reading
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