On July 7, 2016, Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce issued a Notification to remove trade restrictions on local-foreign joint venture companies trading in construction materials.With the removal of these trade restrictions, local-foreign JVs can now conduct both retail and wholesale trading in construction materials, and they are subject to the same rules and regulations that govern local companies trading in construction materials.Local-foreign JV companies that want to trade in construction materials must fulfill the following requirements:

Recent amendments to Thailand’s Bankruptcy Act which came into force on May 25, 2016, will provide SMEs with greater protection against bankruptcy.

Thailand’s economy does not paint an image that befits the country’s reputation as the “Land of Smiles.” Politics, drought, floods, and conflict in the Deep South have taken their toll on Thai businesses. As a result, we have seen a steadily rising number of business reorganizations over the past few years. This article outlines Thailand’s business reorganization procedures and how creditors can collect debts from companies involved in reorganization.

In a trademark infringement that is endemic in Thailand, genuine containers and packaging bearing the mark of a legitimate trademark owner are refilled with illicit contents and reused by third parties. These are then sold in the marketplace and are intended to deceive the public into believing that the goods are genuine.

The Policy Board, established under the Act Allowing Private Entities to Make Joint Investments in State Businesses, has issued a Notice setting out different procedural rules for the selection and implementation of public-private partnership (PPP) projects.The Notice sets out two separate procedures, which apply depending on the estimated value of the project, as follows: 

In our previous update, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued Prakas  (regulations) stipulating that all Cambodian companies that were established before January 4, 2016, must re-register using the MOC’s online registration portal before March 31, 2016. The deadline to complete the re-registration process was extended to June 30, 2016.

Technological advancements are leading to innovation and disruption across a range of industries, and insurance is no exception. Self-driving cars, for example, may one day cause insurance risk to shift from car owners and drivers to car manufacturers. New approaches to insurance, such as peer-to-peer insurance, are also shaking up the industry.

On May 31, 2016, the Ministry of Commerce introduced a Prakas  (regulation) on the Procedures to Record and File Permission Letters for Imported Goods Bearing Exclusive Trademarks. For the first time, this regulation sets out the procedures to register an exclusive distributorship at the Department of Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR).