On January 7, 2020, the Thai General Insurance Association hosted a session on the insurance industry’s compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which was enacted in 2019 and is due to come into force on May 27, 2020. Representatives from the Office of Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) gave presentations, followed by a panel discussion with representatives of the OIC and the Thai General Insurance Association.Speakers were able to give clarity on a number of issues:

On January 6, 2020, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Decision No. 27/QD-TTg establishing the Danang IT Park in the rapidly developing city of Danang on Vietnam’s central coast.

With its low labor costs, growing economy, and increasingly modernized legal environment, Myanmar is an attractive destination for foreign investors. While historically M&A activities have been limited, they are expected to become more significant as the country continues to modernize its commercial legal framework.

On December 30, 2019, the government of Vietnam issued Decree 99/2019/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of the amended 2018 Law on Higher Education (Decree 99). Decree 99 will take effect on 15 February 2020, and sets out, among other things, conditions for the establishment of campuses in Vietnam of foreign higher-education institutions, regulations on governing boards, and the autonomy and accountability of higher-education institutions.

The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (Geneva Act of July 2, 1999 – “1999 Act”) officially took effect in Vietnam on December 30, 2019. Hague System users can now designate Vietnam in an international design application.

On December 24, 2019, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notification on the filing and recording of letters of exclusive importation and distribution of trademarked goods. This notification supplements the 2016 Prakas on the Procedure to Record and File Letters of Exclusive Importation of Trademarked Goods, which required importers with the exclusive right to import goods bearing specific trademarks to record that exclusivity in order to enforce their rights against third parties.

In this first Human Resource Watch column of 2020, Tilleke & Gibbins’ labor and employment lawyers take a look back at three of the most common issues that our clients have asked us about over the past year, including some of the most significant recent legal developments and applications that employers in Thailand have been facing.Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act

On December 13, 2019, the Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 94/2019/ND-CP (Decree 94) providing detailed guidance on some articles of the Law on Crop Production related to plant varieties and cultivation. Decree 94 will come into effect on February 1, 2020.Notably, Decree 94 includes a list of plant variety genetic resources banned from export. In addition, it provides detailed regulations on labeling, conditions for trading or manufacturing, and administrative procedures related to plant varieties to facilitate the manufacture, trade or import of plant varieties.