The corporate governance debate among companies, institutional investors and advocacy groups has taken a shift over the past few proxy seasons.

The focus on ESG matters has increased considerably in the past few years. Most leading companies are now devoting significant resources to developing and refining their approach to addressing, and explaining to stakeholders, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters that are significantly related to their business.

Concern for environmental and social issues has reached an inflection point. While traditional governance issues that have been a staple of investor advocacy and discussion (the “G” of ESG) continue to be important, environmental and social issues (the “E” and the “S” of “ESG”) have now taken center stage.

Shearman & Sterling released the 17th Annual Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Survey, featuring a special focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

Partner and Head of Greater China Lorna Chen, counsel Sean Murphy, associate Anil Motwani and foreign registered lawyer Iris Wang (all Hong Kong-Investment Funds) have authored the “Hong Kong Fundraising” chapter in the 8th edition of The Private Equity Review.

Since the introduction by the Capital Market Authority (the “CMA”) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the “Kingdom”) of the amended Merger and Acquisition Regulations (the “M&A Regulations”) there has been a distinct increase in market activity, indicating that public M&A transactions will continue to drive deal flow in the Kingdom.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to take steps toward implementation of its security-based swap (SBS) dealer registration framework. A particular area of concern for market participants has been how the SEC’s requirements will apply in the cross-border context. In a recent proposal, the SEC has sought to address certain questions as to the cross-border implementation of its SBS regime, and, in some cases, to further harmonize its regulations with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s swaps regulatory framework.

On August 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Treasury submitted proposed regulations on the tax consequences related to the phased elimination of interbank offered rates (the “Proposed Regulations”) to the Office of Management and Budget for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

Antitrust enforcement has become increasingly sophisticated around the world. This article examines the trends of Australia, Brazil, China, Japan and Korea that are at the forefront of cutting-edge cases and some of the most active regulators outside the U.S. and the European Union (EU).

As of mid-2018, the Damages Directive (Directive) has been incorporated across all European Union (EU) Member States. The European Commission (EC) has closed its previous probes against Member States for failing to implement the Directive by the original December 27, 2016 deadline, but is continuing to assess whether certain transposing national laws are sufficient. In the meantime, a multitude of claims have been and continue to be brought across the EU. The extent to which this trend will continue or whether the landscape of EU antitrust litigation will change is yet to be seen.