New rules on public offerings and takeover bids – The law of 11 July 2018 and the Royal Decree of 23 September 2018
Introduction The public offer of investment instruments and their admission to trading on a regulated market used to be governed by the law of 16 June 2006 implementing the Directive 2003/71/EC of 4 November 2003 (the “Law of 2006”). While mandatory disclosure of information is vital to protect investors and constitutes a necessary step towards […]
UBO Register – Sandrine Hirsch speaks at ABF seminar
On Tuesday 23 October, Sandrine Hirsch, Partner in our Corporate M&A department, gave a lecture on the obligations related to the new UBO Register at a workshop organised by the association “Avocats en droit boursier et financier/Advocaten in het beurs- en financieel recht”, in the presence of Mrs Annika Agemans from the SPF Finances/FOD Financiën. Sandrine’s […]
AMLD5 and Cryptocurrencies
Introduction One of the biggest threats associated with virtual currencies (or cryptocurrencies) is their potential use for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. With the adoption of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive ( “AMLD5”) on 30 May 2018, the European Union attempts, amongst other things, to address this issue. Senders and recipients of virtual currencies […]
UBO Register – What are the new obligations of Belgian entities?
Update – 4 October 2018 1. The Law of 18 September 2017 implementing the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive of 20 May 2015 (Directive EU 2015/849) has established a register of beneficial owners, namely the “UBO register” (Ultimate Beneficial Ownership). The Royal Decree of 30 July 2018 on the operating procedures of the UBO register has […]
Implementation of the GDPR in Belgium – An overview of the law of 30 July 2018
Following the entry into force of the GDPR on 25 May 2018 (see our news “GDPR – Are you ready?”), the law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, which repeals the law of 8 December 1992, has been published in the Belgian Official […]
Unveiling the new Belgian law on the protection of trade secrets
At last, after roughly two years, the EU Directive 2016/943 (hereinafter: The Directive) of 8 July 2016 has finally been transposed by the long-awaited Belgian Law of 30 July 2018 on the Protection of Trade Secrets (hereinafter: The Law) that entered into force on 24 August 2018. The Law brings clarity, among other things, by […]
FinTech trends – How Belgium & Japan resemble and differ
Numerous articles compare different European countries or compare Europe and the US when it comes to financial regulation, the IPO market or the types of FinTech applications that are easily adopted (or not) by the public. We decided to take a look in a different direction and together with the Japanese law firm Keiwa Sogo […]
Upcoming innovations in the rules governing associations
Associations and foundations are not immune to the upcoming reforms: the Code of Economic Law has already made enterprises liable to be declared bankrupt, and it is now a question of endowing them with a new set of rules, partly common to companies. What are the changes to expect from the new Companies’ and Associations’ […]
The new Prospectus Law and amendments to the Law on Takeover Bids – The law of 11 July 2018
1. Introduction The public offer of investment instruments and their admission to trading on a regulated market used to be governed by the law of 16 June 2006 implementing the Directive 2003/71/EC of 4 November 2003 (the Law of 2006). While mandatory disclosure of information is vital to protect investors and constitutes a necessary step […]
Another novelty in the Belgian judicial landscape: the future Brussels International Business Court (“BIBC”)
On 15 May 2018, the Belgian Government filed a draft law concerning the implementation of a new specialised English-speaking court in Brussels: the Brussels International Business Court (“BIBC”). The Belgian Parliament is currently reviewing the draft law. The Government intends to ensure the entry into force of the law on 1st January 2020 at the […]
Benelux Trademarks: Extension of the procedures with the Office and centralisation of the appeals with the Benelux Court of Justice
On 1 June 2018, the amendments[1] to the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP), adopted in 2014, entered into force. From 1 June on, new powers are attributed to both the Benelux Court of Justice (BCJ) (1) and the Benelux Office of Intellectual Property (BOIP) (2). Furthermore, a new opposition ground – currently already available […]
The FSMA’s Q&A on how to obtain a registration as an insurance intermediary in Belgium
The FSMA recently released a short Q&A summarising the key steps and requirements of the process for a registration application as an insurance intermediary in Belgium[1]. This document, drafted in English, is intended to attract and inform potential newcomers, be them established insurance professionals fleeing the potential consequences of Brexit or new market entrants such […]