Simon Crown, Monica Sah, Laura Douglas and Meera Ragha of Clifford Chance are the contributors to the UK chapter in the latest Chambers Fintech 2022 Global Practice Guide.

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Clifford Chance, the Institute for Human Rights and Business and the CDC Group have jointly authored a white paper which addresses how banks can support a 'Just Transition' through climate-related financing activities, and the challenges and opportunities that this presents given the range of stakeholders to consider and their competing interests.

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Comparative Table of HKEX's key SPAC proposals versus SPAC Regulation on the SGX versus SPAC Regulation on the NYSE and Nasdaq (together the "US Exchanges")

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Each year, the European Commission publishes a work programme setting out its legislative agenda for the coming year. On 19 October 2021, the Commission published its 2022 Work Programme containing a number of key themes, including a strong focus on the European Green Deal and climate change, initiatives driven by the COVID-19 pandemic such as the Single Market Emergency Instrument and updates to EU competition policy.

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In recent years, there has been a global trend towards protectionism and raising of barriers to foreign investments. A number of countries have introduced new or stricter foreign investment regimes, including the EU Screening Regulation, new review procedures in China and the expanding powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. Our guide on Foreign Direct Investment provides a digestible snapshot of the various foreign investment regimes in a number of jurisdictions (including European Union, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Spain, UK, Australia, Canada, China, Japan and the USA) to help you navigate these rules to support you on your future investments.

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Clifford Chance has collaborated with the World Economic Forum on the publication, Delivering a Trade and Climate Agenda. The report finds that while businesses are actively pursuing emissions reductions, action on trade policy can help accelerate this shift. The report outlines eight ways in which trade policy can help businesses accelerate the transition to net-zero.

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The recently proposed EU regulation on artificial intelligence (AI Act) will impose new regulatory requirements on firms across the financial sector when they use, provide, import or distribute computer software for biometric identification, human capital management or credit assessment of individuals. It will also prohibit the deployment of software exploiting subliminal techniques or vulnerabilities due to age or disability and impose transparency obligations on providers and users of other software. Firms’ compliance with the new requirements will be challenging because of the difficulty of determining what software will be treated as an ‘artificial intelligence system’ subject to these requirements and which entities within a financial sector group will be subject to obligations under the AI Act, especially given its extraterritorial application.

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The horizon scanner identifies and summarises key EU legislative and non-legislative initiatives that are likely to impact firms providing financial services in the EU, grouped thematically. It also sets out projected timelines for the finalisation and implementation of relevant legislative initiatives, covering approximately the next 2 years.

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In this article, we explore the benefits and opportunities, as well as the legal, regulatory and practical challenges, of some of the potential technical solutions for the syndicated loan market under consideration.

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EU and UK margin rules for OTC derivatives will remain closely aligned after the end of the Brexit transition period – but some differences will remain.

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This Guide is an updated comparative overview of the key issues encountered in debt restructurings in European countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Spain. The overview also considers some restructuring techniques available in other jurisdictions (such as the UK) and addresses the extent to which they could be applied in Europe.

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In this Conference Edition of the Global Investment Management Briefing you will find the key messages from Global Funds Week as well as more in-depth articles on some of the topics covered and links to our on-line resources.

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Navigating Foreign Investment Regimes can be critical for success on a transaction.

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Unilateral option clauses are a common feature in many transaction documents. A unilateral option clause grants one party the exclusive right to decide between arbitration or litigation to resolve a dispute. This means a party can choose the forum for their dispute at the time the dispute arises, rather than at the time of negotiating the agreement.

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This Guide provides an overview of the Competition Law regime in Hong Kong.

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Over the course of 2020, we were involved in a number of headline making transactions in the insurance sector that you may be interested in. While these matters encapsulate the changing nature of the insurance market they also point to themes which will continue to develop in 2021. We set out below the 5 big themes we expect to see in the insurance market in 2021 so you can consider how to position your business for what comes next. We would be happy to discuss any of the deals below.

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The Taxonomy Regulation sets out categories of economic activities that are considered environmentally sustainable and is a cornerstone of the European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan. The overall aim is to channel private capital towards sustainable investments and in doing so support the objectives of the European Green Deal and further the transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient, resource-efficient economy, in line with political commitments under the Paris Agreement.

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As a result of COVID-19 and the subsequent market impact, scheduled exit windows for portfolio assets may no longer be viable. As was the case in 2011-13, post the GFC, continuation funds can be a useful tool for GPs looking to extend hold periods for assets, where they are unable to be realised at optimum value in the short term and have potential for future upside.

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This briefing aims to provide some practical suggestions as to the ways in which Australian superannuation funds might realise divestment opportunities and/or secure alternative financing arrangements, to create liquidity or bridge funding issues.

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This briefing aims to provide some practical suggestions as to the ways in which limited partners might realise divestment opportunities and/or secure alternative financing arrangements, to create liquidity or bridge funding issues.

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This document captures key elements of the discussion on Doing Business in Africa held at the Waldorf Astoria in Dubai on November 26, 2019: financing projects, accessing liquidity and finding the right partner in a competitive market place.

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As well as a public health crisis, the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is having significant adverse consequences on many African economies.

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This survey provides information about initial public offerings (IPOs) of equity securities by companies in the health care sector in 2019.

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This paper identifies specific private international law issues with respect to contract law that may arise when trading derivatives in a DLT environment and proposes recommendations on how these issues might be clarified or resolved.

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This fully revised, updated and expanded edition of the industry standard text takes the reader through the complete life cycle of a syndicated loan. Beginning with the opening phase of mandating a lead bank, Syndicated Lending delves through negotiation, documentation, syndication and closing transactions to conclude with the secondary market.

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The governments and agencies within the greater China region have continued at their respective pace with the advancement of China’s green financing. Over the course of the past five years, regulators in the greater China region, including those of Mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, have announced and implemented a number of policies and guidelines in support of the overall policy direction on green financing.

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The European Commission launched its Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth (the Action Plan) in March 2018. This plan is comprehensive and ambitious, with three broad aims: (1) to reorient capital flows towards a more sustainable economy: (2) to maintain sustainability in risk management and (3) to foster transparency and long-termism.

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This Guide provides an overview of financial regulations applicable at the end of 2019 in the twenty largest African jurisdictions by GDP and brings together the collective knowledge and experience of Clifford Chance and its local relationships across the African continent.

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This guide contains discussion and analyses of major actions, cases and trends that have taken place over the past year. This edition also incorporates observations regarding trends in CFTC and DOJ enforcement priorities and tactics.

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The purpose of this guide is to provide an up-to-date overview of the anti-corruption regimes in Asia Pacific. Each section features a summary of the key pieces of local legislation and provides guidance on how businesses operating in each of the featured countries should best deal with anti-corruption compliance.

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This guide (available in English and in Chinese) describes the main techniques which issuers in Asia Pacific, who are considering liability management either in the context of an active debt capital restructuring or financial distress situation, might employ. It also highlights some of the legal issues that they and their financial advisors will need to take into account.

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The primary intention of this guide is to provide a valuable point of reference for the directors, executives and shareholders of a company seeking admission of its shares to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market. The guide identifies legal and practical issues that commonly arise on IPOs, including where, as part of the offer, it is intended to access the US capital markets.

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This Guide provides an overview of taking security in Vietnam, outlining the key issues in taking security, the enforcement process, issues relating to specific assets and financing structures and issues for international lenders and foreign entities

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Historically, commercial bank lending has been the major source of debt for real estate developers and investors in the Middle East as there has been an absence of alternative sources of debt. The growth of this alternative sector, private lending (defined as non-bank debt), forms the focus of this paper which aims to provide a better understanding of the private real estate debt market in the UAE and KSA by addressing the current condition of the market and giving insights on its potential growth and the opportunities it will present to both lenders and borrowers.

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This Guide provides an overview of takeovers of public companies in Germany, including the acquisition of a stake in a German public company and launching (or defending) a formal takeover offer.

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The securitisation markets are operating in a very different geopolitical and macroeconomic environment to the one that prevailed this time last year. Events have pushed markets in some unexpected – and not always welcome – directions. In this year's edition of our annual securitisation publication, we attempt to survey the scene, covering the major changes in regulation, while maintaining a definite market focus.

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This publication provides an overview of the reserved alternative investment fund, a new type of Luxembourg investment vehicle. Among other issues it considers investment policy and restrictions, structural features and legal aspects, the setting up procedure, transparency requirements, marketing and taxation.

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This jargon buster is designed to provide an overview of key legal terms used when doing business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in its various free zones. It has been limited to general definitions that are of most interest.

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This guide is designed to provide an overview of key considerations for doing business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) outside of the various free zones. It has been limited to a general description of areas that are of most interest.

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This document seeks to examine some of the regulatory considerations arising from the Rupee Bond Guidelines that need to be taken into account in the structuring of a Masala bond offering, as well as certain issues that may arise in bringing a Masala bond to the international debt capital markets successfully.

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This article, written by members of our Trusts team, focuses on some of the prominent changes in approach and consequent effect for trustees in agreeing to amendments, waivers and consents and the changing landscape in which trustees operate in the capital markets.

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This Guide has been produced and coordinated by Clifford Chance LLP. It is designed to provide an overview of key considerations for leveraged finance transactions in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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This guide is designed to provide an overview of key considerations for doing business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia). It has been limited to a general description of areas that are of most interest.

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This year’s publication aims to help you to understand the main regulatory and market trends and the forces for change affecting our world, and seeks to distil the key lessons needed to help you and your business to navigate the constantly shifting landscape we all find ourselves in.

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The European Commission’s ‘Level 1’ financial services legislative pipeline is filling up, with more proposals expected this year. Understanding the likely length of the Level 1 legislative process is important for firms’ engagement with the process and planning for eventual implementation.

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