By: Áine Ní Riain and Lucy Deane
On 14 December, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a Public Statement updating its proposals for guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms, following its consultation on the same guidelines (ESMA34-472-373, the Guidelines) that ran from November 2022 to February 2023.
Read MoreThe FCA has published its final rules on the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime. The key features include:
Read MoreBy: Áine Ní Riain and Gayle Bowen
Following their adoption and publication in draft form by the European Commission last June, two new EU Taxonomy delegated acts were published in the Official Journal on 21 November, and will apply from January 2024. They confirm new and amended technical screening criteria (TSCs) in relation to the environmental objectives in the Taxonomy Regulation. This is a significant build-out in the application of the Taxonomy Regulation given that for an economic activity to be taxonomy-aligned, it must:
Read MoreBy: Jim Bulling and Laura McFadzean
On 14 November 2023, the Australian Government released what is described as the first of three tranches of proposed draft legislation implementing the QAR recommendations.
While the government is still saying it intends to address the remaining recommendations of the QAR, there were no commitments given at this stage.
Read MoreBy: Edward Bennett and Ke Jia Lim
On 24 October 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a consultation paper on the repeal of the regulatory regime for Registered Fund Management Companies (RFMCs).
Read MoreBy: Matthew Watts and Rebecca Mangos
The Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its second report on information lodged under the reportable situations regime for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.
Read MoreBy: Yuki Sako
The Japanese government is currently considering (i) several amendments to the large shareholding reporting requirement, which is generally triggered when the position of a beneficial owner reaches 5% of outstanding shares, and (ii) a new mechanism to provide transparency around beneficial owners even when the 5% threshold is not reached. Notably, the stated purposes of these considerations include promoting engagement between companies and investors by removing obstacles for investors to effectively engage with companies and by making it easier for companies to identify beneficial owners.
Read MoreBy: Jim Bulling, Lisa Lautier and Ben Kneebush
On 23 October 2023, the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) released the long-awaited Exposure Draft outlining the Australian climate-related reporting standards.
Read MoreBy: Carolyn Sng and Tan Choo Lye
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is consulting on new guidelines to regulate market soundings in advance of transactions such as private placements and block trades. Market soundings are the communication of non-public information (whether price-sensitive or not) with potential investors prior to the announcement of the transaction to gauge investor interest or assist in determining the specifications of the potential transaction. It can be an integral part of price discovery, but the process may be open to abuse if parties trade on the back of non-public information obtained.
Read MoreBy: Jennifer Klass and Wiley Cole
On 16 October 2023, the Division of Examinations (the Division) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its examination priorities for the 2024 fiscal year. In an interesting twist, the SEC released the examination priorities early, changing the timing to correspond to the beginning of its new fiscal year.
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