Article 32-3 (5bis) of the Act of 10 August 2016 (the "Act") modernising the Luxembourg Companies Act of 10 August 1915, as amended, introduces the possibility for an SA to grant shares free of charge to, amongst others, employees and certain executives. The new rules will facilitate the set-up and implementation of management incentive plans. The articles of association of an SA may now authorize the board of directors to award shares to employees and certain executives, amongst others. Such...

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GRANITO is pleased to announce the expansion of its department handling business and legal matters requiring the expertise of GRANITO's Spanish lawyers with the addition to its team of American tri-lingual Thomas Conners. Conners' experience centers in transatlantic and transamerican literature, Spanish culture and the study of developing contemporary markets. Conners has been actively involved in projects developed by GRANITO in connection with the acknowledgement in Italy of pharmaceuticals and environmental quality systems and certifications issued by the Agència de...

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Pepper Hamilton is  pleased to announce that four attorneys have been elected to the partnership and two have been elected of counsel, effective January 1, 2017.   Those elected as partners are:   Abigail A. Hazlett - Philadelphia, White Collar Litigation and Investigations Abigail A. Hazlett is a member of the White Collar Litigation and Investigations Practice Group in the Philadelphia office. She focuses her practice in white collar defense, representing companies in a variety of state and federal criminal and civil actions, and...

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The most divisive US election in modern history and the uncertainty that it created across the world is over. Now, leaders should turn to the challenge of securing sustainable economic growth, writes William R. Rhodes. Major decisions have been set aside for too long by the governments of the US, the European Union, Japan and China. A host of economic policy actions are now essential and none is more important than countering a mounting trade protectionist threat. World trade growth is...

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On 21st November 2016, the European Securities and Markets Authorities updated its Questions & Answers on the application of the UCITS Directive (the “Updated Q&A”).  Article 56(2)(c) and Article 55(1) of the UCITS Directive set out two limits whereby (i) a UCITS may not acquire more than 25% of the units issued by a target fund (control limit) and (ii) a UCITS may not invest that more than 10% of its assets in a target fund (concentration limit), knowing that...

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The EU is still facing a difficult market situation, even though the economic rebound in Europe is proceeding. There is a long way to go to achieve the Commission's European 2020 Agenda to get 75 percent of the working-age population (20-64 years old) into employment. In 2016, some of the main issues regarding employment law that the EU had to deal with were: • the Brexit referendum, • the General Data Protection Regulation, • EU-US Privacy Shield and • the different development of the...

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The Dutch State Secretary of Finance declared an extension of the filing period for entities of multinational groups (with a consolidated group revenues of at least EUR 750 million) to 1 September 2017 regarding the following notifications: whether or not these entities are a so-called ‘reporting entity’ under the Dutch Country-by-Country reporting legislation, and; which group entity is the reporting entity. In addition, a special digital application has been developed by the Dutch tax authorities for notifying the identity of the reporting...

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The European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2016 came into operation on 15 November 2016. These Irish Regulations form part of the Irish implementation of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) which is due to be transposed throughout the EU by 26 June 2017. Certain Irish Corporates must now: take “all reasonable steps” to obtain and hold “adequate, accurate and current” information in respect of their beneficial owners;   construct and keep a new beneficial ownership register; and   keep the information...

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On November 14, 2016 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new Employment Eligibility Verification form, commonly referenced as Form I-9. The new form, which employers must use to establish the employment authorization of employees they hire, features a number of upgrades intended to help reduce errors and facilitate greater efficiency and accuracy in the completion of the form. It is important to note that, while the new Form I-9, dated “11/14/2016 N” in the document’s lower left corner,...

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The world is connected like never before and with growing personal networks of online devices at their fingertips, consumers in Europe are among those driving digital evolution. Our report, written in association with Retail Week, reveals the nuances and divergences in connected consumers’ behaviour and perceptions across Europe If your business interacts with connected consumers in any way, be it in retail, digital health, transport and logistics or emerging innovations, you will appreciate that these differences create great opportunities. Through research...

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