Blockchain has gained popularity and prominence through virtual currencies but its applications are far greater than that, with tokenization poised as the next wave of financial disruption. The importance of virtual assets and its pivotal role in the future of finance is increasingly being recognized by regulators across the globe and the behemoths of traditional finance alike. In this webinar, we will look at the regulatory landscape in Hong Kong, key market trends and the outlook for the emerging frontier of virtual assets.
SPEAKER:
Joy Lam, Sidley Austin LLP
Joy is a Partner of Sidley Austin LLP based in Hong Kong and leads the development of Sidley's Hong Kong practice focused on the intersection of FinTech and Blockchain with investment funds and asset management.
Joy's practice focuses on advising clients within the virtual assets ecosystem in Hong Kong. This includes advising on the structuring and offer of tokenized funds and non-fund tokenised offerings; advising on the complex and rapidly evolving regulatory requirements for issuing, and managing investments in, virtual assets; and advising on the regulatory requirements for operating exchanges for the secondary trading of virtual assets.
She acted on the first open-ended and closed-ended tokenised fund launches in Asia. She was named the May 2020 Lawyer of the month by IFLR1000 for her work on the first tokenised fund in Asia to feature cryptocurrencies as an asset class. She has also advised a leading virtual assets client on securing the first approval from the SFC of an actively managed virtual assets fund that permits subscriptions and redemptions to be effected in kind.
Joy is recognized in Chambers Global 2021 and Chambers Asia-Pacific 2021 as “Up and Coming” in investment funds. Joy has also been featured among the“Rising Stars – Investment Funds” by Expert Guides in 2020 and was previously named a“Rising Star” by Law360 in its 2018 annual report that recognizes the “top legal talent under 40” who are practicing at a level “usually seen from veteran attorneys.”
EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Location: Webinar links will be sent upon registration
CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for. Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link.
This webinar will bring you right up to speed on recent developments on SOPL in Hong Kong. In a system unlike anywhere else, SOPL will initially rely on a complex chain of contractual amendments without any legislation. The Hong Kong Government will be introducing SOPL provisions across all its new public works contracts for tenders issued from July or August 2021. We will provide a concise briefing on the Development Bureau's draft Technical Circular, including:
We will also consider the practical implications and the steps contractors and subcontractors will need to take to prepare themselves, and the latest position of the Hong Kong Construction Association.
SPEAKERS:
Ian Cocking, Cocking & Co
Ian is a founding partner of Cocking & Co, an independent law firm specialized in construction. Ian is recognised as one of the leading legal advisers to the construction, engineering and project development industries in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. Ian is an accredited mediator and an accredited adjudicator.
Priscillia Lam, Cocking & Co
Priscillia is an associate of Cocking & Co. Her practice focuses on litigation and arbitration relating to construction and engineering in Hong Kong and overseas. She has worked with various clients including employers, contractors, engineers and architects in a number of high-profile construction and commercial projects.
Date: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
We hope you all have been keeping well and staying safe! The ACC HK Financial Services group’s next lunch circle will be held in person on Thursday, 30 September 2021 from 12:30 - 2:00 pm. Lunch will be provided by the ACC member host.
As with past lunches, the agenda will consist of crowd-sourced discussion topics submitted by attendees so that we can share ideas and input with each other.
There are several topics that the Financial Services Subcommittee Co-Chairs propose for this lunch, including: Hong Kong SFC Consultation on Management and Disclosure of Climate-related Risks; APAC employer programs / efforts to encourage / incentivize employees to get Covid-19 vaccines, but each attendee also needs to propose a topic or two to discuss.
The details of everything we discuss at the lunch is strictly confidential and subject to Chatham House rules, which will allow our discussion to be fulsome and candid (and as a result, helpful and productive) – our goal is to maximize the input from a broad cross section of firms across various financial services industries in a discreet and confidential setting in order to make the lunch informative and valuable.
We encourage those who have not attended an ACC HK Financial Services group event (or those who have been away for a while) to join us and participate. The event headcount will typically be capped to give everyone time to discuss their topics. We look forward to welcoming you to the lunch!
Venue*: To be advised to confirmed attendees
Date: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Time: 12:30pm - 2:00 pm
RSVP: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Please note, all participants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend.
Join Registered Foreign Lawyer Matthew Durham from boutique dispute resolution law firm Gall for a presentation on employment law themes shaping the market in Hong Kong. From whether employers can mandate vaccinations, to the growing emphasis placed on mental wellness in the workplace, how employers can effectively handle layoffs, suspension during misconduct investigations, updating and using policies to adapt to new working situations, and relying on conditions for commencement of employment, Matthew will share practical suggestions and guidance on how to adapt to a rapidly evolving workplace in a challenging and COVID-affected environment.
Matthew will address questions from the audience after his presentation.
Matthew Durham joined Gall’s Employment practice as an England and Wales qualified Registered Foreign Lawyer in January 2021 and is an experienced employment lawyer specialising in employment matters. He is known in the market for advising multi-national companies on the full range of employment issues relating to hiring and separating, employment contracts, handbooks and policies, international secondments, transactions and restructurings, labour unions, stock options and incentive schemes, social insurance and welfare schemes, employee fraud, and restrictive covenants.
Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021
We encourage members to bring a guest whom they think may benefit from ACCHK membership to this event. There is no fee for guest registrations.
Following a lengthy legislative process, China’s first comprehensive data privacy law, the Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”), was finally adopted on August 20 of this year and takes effect very shortly, on November 1. Many aspects of PIPL were modelled on EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (aka GDPR) but the PIPL departs from and in many cases is stricter than GDPR in a number of respects. In this event, we provide an overview of some of the PIPL’s key requirements and discuss how companies should prepare for this law. Among other topics, we will discuss data localization requirements under the the PIPL and restrictions on cross-border transfers of personal information, which are more stringent than under either GDPR or pre-PIPL privacy rules in China.
Paul McKenzie, Morrison & Foerster
Paul is managing partner of MoFo’s Beijing and Shanghai offices and has more than 27 years of experience advising a stellar list of international clients on data privacy, regulatory licensing, cybersecurity, and other regulatory compliance matters associated with business in China.
Paul advises on a broad range of issues in connection with China’s evolving regulatory framework governing data privacy and security, including data localization rules, systems compliance, network security, and use of encryption technologies.
He also frequently publishes and speaks on the topic.
Xuezi Dan, Morrison & Foerster
Xuezi Dan is an associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Beijing office. Her practice focuses on regulatory compliance, with a particular emphasis on cybersecurity and data privacy.
Xuezi has worked closely with a long list of leading international companies on matters ranging from data localization, data protection program, and cybersecurity regulatory compliance.
Date: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
