On September 18, 2023, the Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP (“Decree 70”) amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP (“Decree 152”), which regulates foreign workers working in Vietnam and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign entities in Vietnam. While Decree 70 relaxes some conditions relating to foreign workers, the general goal of protecting and prioritizing domestic labor over foreign labor remains. The major changes introduced in Decree 70 are summarized below. 1. Amended Definitions and Requirements for Worker Classifications Decree 70 introduces several changes to the requirements for foreign workers to be classified as “experts” and “technical workers.” Under Decree 152, foreign workers needed to hold bachelor’s degrees or receive training directly related to their intended job positions in Vietnam. However, under Decree 70, experts are only required to have a university degree or higher and at least three years of relevant work experience suitable for their intended positions in Vietnam. Similarly, it is no longer necessary for technical workers to have training in a specific technical field to be eligible to work in Vietnam. Instead, a technical worker is defined as someone who has undergone at least one year of training and possesses at least three years of working experience suitable for their intended job position. Additionally, Decree 70 clarifies and expands the scope of the term “executive director”. Accordingly, an executive director can be (i) the head of a branch, representative office, or business location of an enterprise (which helps clarify the previous definition of “executive director” in Decree 152); or (ii) an individual who oversees at least one field within an agency, organization, or enterprise while being under the direct supervision of the head of that agency, organization, or enterprise. 2. Application for Work Permit The general procedure for

Myanmar has made important amendments to its minimum wage framework by increasing the minimum compensation for workers in both the public and private sectors. Background In May 2018, the National Committee for Setting the Minimum Wage determined that all workers in Myanmar should receive a minimum wage of MMK 4,800 per day (approx. USD 2.29), equivalent to MMK 600 per hour for an eight-hour workday. This rule applied to all workers, without differentiation in location or job. Government Workers and Organizations In September 2023, the Ministry of Planning and Finance announced that daily workers in government departments and organizations are entitled to receive an additional benefit of MMK 1,000 on top of their existing daily wage, which was already MMK 4,800. Consequently, they could earn a total of MMK 5,800 per day for eight hours of work. Private-Sector Workers On October 9, 2023, the national committee announced an increase of minimum wages for employees in the private sector. According to Notification No. 2/2023, workers at private-sector employers with more than 10 employees are now entitled to minimum compensation of MMK 5,800 per day (approx. USD 2.77)—an additional MMK 1,000 per eight-hour workday over the previously established minimum wage. The changes took effect on October 1, 2023. For more details about these changes, or any aspect of employee compensation or employment law in Myanmar, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

Michael Ramirez, a counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department, has contributed an article to a series on contractual terms in Asia from the Asian Business Law Institute. Previous articles in the series have looked at administrative and tax requirements and contract breach and remedy under Thai law. The article gives an overview of how extracontractual liabilities are treated under Thai law. It addresses issues related to contract negotiations, no-reliance clauses, entire agreement clauses, and concurrent liability. ABLI, which is based in Singapore, conducts legal research and dissemination in order to provide knowledge, guidance, and recommendations surrounding development of legal systems in Asia. The full article on extracontractual liabilities is available as a PDF through the button below.

Introduction The idea of the metaverse rose to prominence in the public discourse in 2021, most notably when Facebook renamed itself Meta and announced a new focus on launching a virtual, immersive world. The initial excitement around the metaverse has since faded, with worsening economic conditions having a particularly acute effect on companies in the technology sector. When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in March 2023 that artificial intelligence (AI) was the company’s “single largest investment,” many took this as a sign of the company shifting focus away from the metaverse. However, there remains significant interest in the metaverse from both businesses and consumers. Zuckerberg himself reaffirmed Meta’s focus on the metaverse, highlighting how developments in AI will improve virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology. Meanwhile, Roblox, a metaverse gaming platform, announced that in Q1 2023, its number of daily active users had increased to 66 million. Most recently, the announcement by Apple of its new ‘Vision Pro’ AR headset is reported to have renewed interest in the metaverse among developers. A particular area of interest in the developing metaverse is digital fashion and retail. In its Metaverse Fashion Trends Report 2022, Roblox found that nearly three in four users aged 14 to 24 spend money on digital fashion items. Roblox itself has partnered with fashion brands Burberry, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, and others, to offer experiences and items for use on the platform. In March 2023, Decentraland, a metaverse platform with a decentralized governance structure, hosted the Metaverse Fashion Week, featuring brands such as Adidas, Coach, and DKNY. As businesses continue to invest and look for opportunities to expand into the metaverse, whether through traditional e-commerce or more innovative digital asset offerings, it is important that they consider the ways in which new and existing laws apply