CHINA LEGAL UPDATE 2014 - 01 IN THIS ISSUE ZHONG LUN NEWS Philip Zhang, a partner in Zhong State Council Relaxes Outbound Investment Approval Lun’s New York Office, was Requirements appointed as Counsellor to the President of the Union Internationale New Amendments to Company Law des Avocats (“UIA”). (read more. .) MOFCOM Further Liberalizes RMB Foreign Direct Investment Zhong Lun Law Firm and its Hong MOFCOM Integrates Supervision of Foreign and Domestic Kong associated firm Boughton Financial Leasing Enterprises Peterson Yang Anderson (BPYA) are delighted to announce the Draft Amendments to Food Safety Law Circulated addition of Basil Hwang as a Partner in the Hong Kong office. (read more. Hong Kong Enacts New Companies Ordinance . .) Hong Kong Lawyer recently China Further Opens Value-added Telecommunications Sector in interviewed Robert Lewis, a partner Shanghai Free Trade Zone at Zhong Lun, to get an exclusive, “behind the scenes” look at how the PBOC Permits RMB Settlement for Foreign Investment in new Practical Law China service Domestic Financial Institutions was born. (read more . .) Events and Presentations T.K. Chang, a partner in the New (1) Zhong Lun Hosts Second International Securitization Seminar: York Office of Zhong Lun Law Firm, Revolving Securitization Structure and Capital Relief recently gave an extensive interview (2) China Committee of ABA Section of International Law Holds to The China Press on important Seminar in New York recent developments in international (3) Zhong Lun Law Firm Shanghai Office co-organized the tax law. (read more . .) Seminar Shanghai Free Trade Zone - Blueprint and Opportunity CONTACT US NEW LAWS AND REGULATIONS Email: [email protected] State Council Relaxes Outbound Investment Approval Requirements On 2 December 2013, the State Council issued a revised Catalogue of Investment Projects Requiring Government Verification (“2013 Catalogue”), which eased China’s burdensome approval requirements for most outbound investment projects. Previously, a domestic investor in an offshore project generally was required to obtain verification from the National Reform and Development Commission (“NDRC”), or the relevant local reform and development commission, to obtain verification of the letter of intent and framework agreements and the offshore target from the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), About Zhong Lun or the relevant local commerce department, and to carry out other procedures in regard to state owned assets and foreign Zhong Lun is a leading Chinese full- exchange control. (read more . .) service business law firm. The firm has more than 160 partners New Amendments to Company Law and 700 lawyers in ten offices: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, On 28 December 2013, the Standing Committee of the National Tokyo, Wuhan, Hong Kong, Chengdu, People's Congress (“NPC”) enacted significant amendments London and New York. (“Amendments”) to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Company Law”), which will take effect 1 March 2014. Practice areas include: The Amendments abolish the longstanding minimum Banking and finance capitalization requirements in the Company Law, as well as the Competition/antitrust corresponding requirements on in-kind capital contributions, the Compliance: anti-corruption/ amount and timing for contributions to registered capital, capital white collar crime verification, and the registration of paid-in-capital, for most limited Construction liability companies and companies limited by shares. (read more Corporate/M&A . .) Debt and equity capital markets Dispute resolution MOFCOM Further Liberalizes RMB Foreign Direct Employment Investment Hotels and hospitality Intellectual property On 3 December 2013, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) International trade issued the Notice on Issues Relating to Renminbi Foreign Direct Investment funds Investment (“Notice 87”), which took effect on January 01, 2014 Outbound investment and simultaneously repealed two prior rules on Renminbi foreign Private client and trusts direct investment (“RFDI”). (read more . .) Private equity Projects and infrastructure Real estate MOFCOM Integrates Supervision of Foreign and Domestic Restructuring and insolvency Financial Leasing Enterprises Securitization/structured finance The Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the Measures for Tax the Supervision and Administration of Financial Leasing Telecommunications, media Enterprises (“Circular 337”), which took effect on 1 December and entertainment 2013. Circular 337 replaces separate rules that stipulated different criteria for the supervision of foreign invested and domestic invested financial leasing enterprises organized pursuant to the rules by MOFCOM. (read more . .) Draft Amendments to Food Safety Law Circulated On October 29, 2013, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued the Notice to Solicit Public Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Draft”). The revised law is expected to be enacted in 2014. The Draft clarifies the roles of the various government agencies involved in regulating food safety in China and confers primary responsibility for supervising food safety on the China Food and Drug Administration (“CFDA”), the successor to the State Food and Drug Administration. (read more . .) Hong Kong Enacts New Companies Ordinance In July 2012 the Hong Kong Legislative Council enacted the new Companies Ordinance (“New Ordinance”) which will come into force in March 2014. The New Ordinance introduces many changes to the existing Companies Ordinance. (read more . .) China Further Opens Value-added Telecommunications Sector in Shanghai Free Trade Zone Following the release of the Special Measures on the Administration of Foreign Investment Access to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Negative List) last Fall, on 6 January 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government jointly issued the Opinions on Further Opening Value-added Telecommunications Services in China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone (the “Opinions”), which confirm and further clarify the trial liberalization of foreign investment in certain sections of the value-added telecommunications services (“VATS”) sector in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (“SFTZ”). (read more . .) PBOC Permits RMB Settlement for Foreign Investment in Domestic Financial Institutions On 23 September 2013, the People's Bank of China (“PBOC”) issued the Notice of the People's Bank of China on the Renminbi Settlement of Investments in Domestic Financial Institutions by Foreign Investors (“Notice”) to facilitate the use of Renminbi (“RMB”) for the cross-border settlement of foreign investment in domestic financial institutions, thereby further expanding the channels for RMB to flow back to China. (read more . .) EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS Zhong Lun On 11 November 2013, Zhong Lun held its Hosts Second second international securitization seminar, International “Revolving Securitization Structure and Capital Securitization Relief,” this time in association with Clifford Seminar: Chance. Over one hundred professionals Revolving attended this year’s closed door seminar, Securitization including representatives of over 30 foreign Structure and and domestic banks, securities companies, Capital Relief trust companies, financial leasing companies and other financial institutions, as well as accounting firms, rating firms and the research center of the CSRC. (read more . .) China On 9 January 2014, the China Committee of Committee of the American Bar Association Section of ABA Section of International Law held a seminar in New York International City on the current state of, and recent Law Holds improvements in, China’s intellectual property Seminar in New legal framework. This is the first in a series of York seminars that the China Committee will be conducting in the New York metropolitan area on topical legal issues involving China. Philip Zhang, a partner in Zhong Lun’s New York office, is co-chairing the seminars. (read more . .) Zhong Lun Law On January 11 and 12, 2014, the Seminar Firm Shanghai named Shanghai Free Trade Zone - Blueprint Office co- and Opportunity, which was organized by organized the International Law School of China University of Seminar Political Science and Law and Wenzhou Shanghai Free Chamber of Commerce of Shanghai Trade Zone - Federation of Industry and Commerce and co- Blueprint and organized by Zhong Lun Law Firm Shanghai Opportunity Office, was held in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. (read more . .) The contents of this newsletter are for reference only and do not constitute legal advice. LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP LLP ** Before acting on this email or opening any attachment you are advised to read our Email Disclaimer at below URL. 在阅读 本邮 件或打开任何附件前，建议 您首先阅读 我们 刊载 于如下URL的邮 件声明。 http://www.zhonglun.com/Disclaimer.html **.