The European Parliament confirmed the new class of European Commissioners with 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions on 27 November 2019. The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and her team of European Commissioners took office on 1 December 2019 and will drive the EU’s agenda for the next five years. Ms von der Leyen, the former German defence minister, says that it will be a “geopolitical Commission,” signalling an intention to position Europe as a heavyweight on the world stage.

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This publication considers the LMA documentation and some of the other issues relating to transition in the loan market.

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Financial institutions are focusing on market access in preparation for Brexit, but with the rise of deglobalisation, there is also a broader global trend towards limiting cross-border market access and tightening barriers.

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What can investors who are pressing ahead with expanding their UK property portfolios or commencing developments do to Brexit-proof their commercial leases and prelet agreements for lease? The laws governing these types of agreement in the UK will not change as a result of Brexit, and (thankfully) we know from the recent Canary Wharf v EMA case that Brexit is unlikely to result in frustration of these agreements. But with continuing uncertainty around potential disruption to supply chains, currency fluctuations, and labour shortages as a result of Brexit, there are still some steps that prudent landlords and developers can take now to avoid the worst of any adverse consequences that could flow from a chaotic Brexit.

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With protectionism and deglobalisation on the rise in Europe, the US and elsewhere, China, by contrast, is championing globalisation. Its financial system is still relatively closed to international access, but the Chinese government has recently taken steps to open up access to its financial markets to foreign investors, in order to seek global capital. Although it remains at a relatively early stage, legislative changes such as the new Foreign Investment Law and links to the global financial system including Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect are already having an impact and China’s influence in global financial markets may grow significantly if this trend continues.

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Clifford Chance experts discuss these competing forces towards and against globalisation, focusing on five areas that are driving or challenging global approaches in financial regulation.

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Clifford Chance experts assess the changing regulatory landscape as the Chinese government puts quality and affordability at the centre of its healthcare policy agenda.

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In July, when campaigning to lead the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised party members that he would "roll back the influence of the state" by changing public procurement rules in order to favour UK companies when bidding for billions of pounds worth of Government work and turbo-charge the advantages of the UK economy. Here we look at how such a "buy British" pledge might be implemented, the effect it may have on British companies bidding for contracts outside the UK under WTO terms and the implications that such a policy might have on the UK agreeing Free Trade Agreements.

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This briefing considers the challenges for Libra in the face of the financial crime concerns that have been raised since its announcement.

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Clifford Chance experts, including of Counsel Michel Petite who worked for the EU for 27 years and was legal adviser to three Commission Presidents, assess the priorities for the new von der Leyen Commission.

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Parliament might have thought it was prorogued but, if so, Parliament was wrong according to the Supreme Court. Parliament has now resumed its sittings. But what impact the Supreme Court's decision will have on Brexit is more speculative.

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This briefing looks at how blockchain explorer software can assist financial institutions and crypto-businesses meet their own anti‑money laundering (AML) and sanctions obligations.

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Clifford Chance experts consider the potential challenges, what this means for the tech sector and whether more could be done.

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One of the UK Labour Party’s most striking policies is to require 10% of the shares in all UK companies with more than 250 employees to be owned by inclusive ownership funds. The dividends on those shares would then be shared between employees (but capped at £500 per employee), and the balance paid to the Government.

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This briefing examines some of the key questions around crypto-funds and the issues that can arise for fund managers in this emerging area.

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Amidst a flurry of campaign promises, policy announcements and discussions of parliamentary procedure, Brexit continues to dominate the UK political agenda.

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The essence of Libra is that Facebook hopes consumers across the world will spend money in a new cryptocurrency. Its value will track a basket of fiat currencies, meaning that the value of a Libra against a particular fiat currency will inevitably fluctuate. That creates a problem for consumers: each time they transact, they’ll be making a capital gain or loss. In most countries gains will be taxable, meaning consumers will have to file a detailed tax return showing all their transactions and the exchange rate at the time, and pay any tax due. This seems to us to be a significant barrier to wide adoption.

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Nationalisation is on the agenda in the UK. The Labour Party says that, if it wins the next general election, it will nationalise the railways, water and energy companies, the National Grid, the Royal Mail and possibly private finance initiative (PFI) companies – and that it will pay shareholders less than the market value of their investments.

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A new report by the UK Climate Change Committee has recommended that the UK toughens its climate target to net zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050.

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Coal projects are under pressure from governments, courts, businesses and investors as the momentum to reduce the use of coal builds. This publication explores some of the action being taken by the public and private sectors and the impact on the industry.

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This briefing considers insider dealing risk arising when big data constitutes inside information and the manipulation risk arising from AI and machine learning.

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This article, which was first published by the International Financial Law Review, highlights the legal, ethical and reputational risk that UK financial institutions face when using AI and suggest the steps that they should take now to minimise them.

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Clifford Chance experts take a bird’s eye view of fintech developments across EMEA and how regulators are responding.

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This publication explores the current state of LIBOR transition, what a move to risk-free rates will mean in practice for corporate treasurers, and some key steps that treasurers might take in the near term to ready themselves for LIBOR’s potential demise.

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Israel, with its expertise in technology such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain and computer vision, has established itself as a global centre for fintech.

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China and the US are heading towards a new cold war which may radically alter the global economy, argued Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business at an event hosted by Clifford Chance in Davos.

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Five stand out trends for Fintech in 2019

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This publication provides a snapshot of “risk-free reference rates” (RFRs) selected by different markets to replace LIBORs and IBORs for different currencies. It also highlights those RFRs for which “term” rates are being pursued and those for which Overnight Indexed Swaps (OIS) and futures have been developed.

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This publication considers how conventions used in Overnight Index Swaps (OIS) and RFR futures markets are relevant to the development of RFR-based term rates.

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This publication contains a review of the comparative product challenges for the loan, bond (including securitisation) and derivatives markets to assist with your review of financing arrangements as a whole.

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China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is one of the most ambitious development projects in history. The first phase focuses on much-needed infrastructure development but where is the money coming from and what are the challenges and opportunities?

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Since its launch in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has driven billions of dollars’ worth of ambitious infrastructure projects across nearly seventy countries. As the level and scope of outbound investment increases, Chinese companies are now giving careful thought to dispute resolution.

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Standing at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, the Caspian region has a key part to play in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Georgia, in particular, are actively courting Chinese investors and Chinese finance in relation to a range of domestic and cross-border transportation, energy and information infrastructure projects

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When the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first announced in 2013, no one in the private sector was really sure what it meant and what opportunities would become available. Now there is a much clearer picture and we are seeing a significant degree of interest in BRI-related financial commitments, investments and projects.

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The profile of corporate sustainability has been growing steadily over the last few years. Boosted by initiatives such as the UN Global Compact and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the topic is becoming a mainstream and core focus of business operations in many sectors.

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The energy sector is investing heavily in technology to drive efficiency, cut costs and better understand its customers. We outline the four trends that will have a significant impact on the industry and the legal risks to watch out for.

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Most firms remain unsure of the impact Brexit will have on their businesses. In our first report in this series, our analysis begins to fill that gap in understanding. We have not tried to calculate the full economic impact of Brexit on the UK and EU27 economies. Rather, we have focused on the direct impacts that will result from new tariff and non-tariff barriers that could be imposed on trade between the UK and EU27

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As every news cycle brings further revelations about the alleged misuse of personal data by social media companies and political consultants, regulators, politicians and the public are more concerned than ever with what happens to information placed online, who has it and how it is being used.

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Nationalisation is on the agenda in the UK. The Labour Party says that, if it wins the next general election, it will nationalise the railways, water and energy companies, the Royal Mail and possibly private finance initiative (PFI) companies.

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Five bold predictions for the future of fintech.

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In this publication we outline developments in green financing in local markets across the globe, demonstrating the sometimes contrasting approaches of different regions.

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This publication looks at how blockchain helps trade finance transactions and the impact of economic sanctions on blockchain and trade finance.

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This publication looks at the proposed legislation that would create an EU framework for the screening of foreign takeovers and investments on grounds of security and public policy.

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This publication examines how developments over the past 18 months have cast a spotlight on international trade and its changing dynamics

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In this report, we aim to show that the Middle East has great potential for future investment in fintech and that, despite challenges in the region, these are mitigated by significant development and modernisation happening across the region.

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