In May 2020, the Thai Cabinet approved a royal decree granting a one-year exemption from certain provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act 2019 (PDPA), which had been scheduled to take full effect on May 27, 2020. The new decree has extended the effective date for a number of the law’s provisions to May 31, 2021.Key Elements of the ExtensionUnder the decree, certain critical provisions of the PDPA are not enforceable against exempted businesses (see list below) during the extension period, including the following:

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is drafting a decree to amend Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of internet services and online information (Decree 72), one of the key pieces of legislation affecting online business and activities in Vietnam. Among other things, the draft decree is expected to revise the current regime of domain name dispute resolution to bring it in conformity with Vietnam’s obligations under the CPTPP.

To provide some additional relief to entrepreneurs that have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand has released a new emergency decree that allows financial institutions to offer soft loans to eligible small and medium enterprises (SMEs), waiving the usual mortgage registration fee for loans of this type.

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve in Cambodia, the government has issued a declaration, dated May 20, 2020, removing the ban on travelers entering the Kingdom from the following six countries:

The newly amended Law on Insurance was published in the Electronic Official Gazette on March 30, 2020, and has been in effect since April 15. Existing insurers are allowed three years to comply with the new requirements, as provided in the amended law. As for insurance and reinsurance companies not yet established in Laos, new insurance business licenses remain suspended under a 2016 notification.

The Thai judiciary has issued multiple measures and guidelines for case management during the COVID-19 outbreak. The latest came in May 2020, when the president of the Supreme Court issued further details and guidance on the handling of cases during the COVID-19 outbreak in an official announcement titled Measures for Case Management according to the Declaration of an Emergency Situation between March 26, 2020, and April 30, 2020, in all areas of the Kingdom of Thailand.

On May 19, 2020, the Thai Cabinet approved the implementation of a royal decree providing a one-year exemption from certain provisions under the Personal Data Protection Act 2019 (PDPA).The royal decree, once published in the Royal Gazette, will be effective from May 27, 2020, until May 31, 2021. Based on the Cabinet’s announcement, the decree is expected to provide exemption from the following chapters and provisions of the PDPA:

In Vietnam, golf is gaining in popularity, and the country is also becoming a popular destination for golfing vacationers. The country has about 35 courses in operation and many more in the pipeline. Most of the courses are found on the outskirts of major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, or near resort areas such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau and Dalat.