We are delighted to announce that our Partner Mr. Eric Lui has been appointed by the Chief Executive as a member of the Licensing Appeals Board (“LIAB”) in January 2018 for a further term of two years. “It is my honor to be member of the Licensing Appeals Board. I will keep my promises and do my best to perform the official duties.” Mr. Lui.

The Licensing Appeals Board (“LIAB”) considers appeals against decisions made by the relevant licensing authorities (the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Department of Health) in relation to licensing matters under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.

Please contact Mr. Eric Lui for any enquiries for further information.

We are delighted to announce that our Partner Mr. Eric Lui was awarded the International Advisory Experts Award 2018 for Corporate Finance Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong.

International Advisory Experts (IAE) is a global alliance of well-established and experienced legal, financial and consulting firms from over 140 jurisdictions that are committed to providing clients with specialist solutions for their international business requirements. The International Advisory Experts annual awards pay tribute to firms and individuals who have been successful over the past year and have received exceptional praise from their peers.

Please contact Mr. Eric Lui for any enquiries for further information.

The Administrative Measures on Due Diligence of Non-resident Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (“the Measures”) came into effect on July 1, 2017, which is viewed as China’s domestic legislation for implementation of CRS in China. According to the Measures, financial institutions shall establish internal systems and practical mechanisms to comply with the Measures to fulfill the obligations specified in the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information.

In general, the obligation of financial institutions under the Measures are summarized as “understand the tax resident identity of the account holder or controller, identify financial accounts owned by non-residents and collect and submit the relevant account information”. Correspondingly, the account holder is obliged to “provide financial institutions with the relevant information specified herein in a true, timely, accurate and complete manner”.

The Measures set out the scope and definition of financial institutions, financial accounts, non-residents, passive non-financial institutions and so on. According to Article 6, Article 7 and Article 8 of the Measures, financial institutions include depository institutions, custodial institutions, investment institutions, specific insurance institutions as well as the branches. The Measures also provide a non-exclusive list of financial institutions including commercial banks, rural credit cooperatives, securities companies, futures companies, securities investment fund managements companies, private equity fund management companies, partnerships engaging in private equity fund management, and trust companies.

The Measures also set out other detailed requirements, for example, a financial institution is allowed under the measures to entrust a third party with due diligence, provided that the relevant liabilities are still borne by the financial institution. Moreover, information collected during the implementation of the Measures shall be kept by the financial institutions for at least five years.

Timeline of Mainland China & CRS

• In September 2014, Mainland China committed to the implementation of “Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Intax Matters”
• In December 2015, Mainland China signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information
• By December 31,2017, financial institutions shall complete the due diligence procedures for a stock individual account of high net worth and identify non-resident accounts
• By September 30, 2018- Mainland China will exchange related information with other countries (or regions) who has committed to CRS.
• By December 31, 2018, financial institution shall complete the due diligence for a stock individual account and identify non-resident accounts.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. has again been recognized for its success in the legal industry by being ranked fifth among all Hong Kong domestic firms in the Top 50 research of Asian Legal Business. Up to date, we have more than 50 lawyers serving our clients. Since 1978, we have been delivering effective legal solutions to our clients and we maintain and advance our status in the legal field by looking ahead for different opportunities and continuously enhancing our quality of services to ensure our clients’ needs are fulfilled. Our business has been evolving through expansion, new partnerships and development of our business networks and our aim is to continue to excel and meet new challenges in the coming years.

AllBright Law Offices was ranked fourth among all Asian law firms. AllBright has always been recognized as one of the top law firms in China and our strategic association with AllBright has increased our flexibility to meet the changing needs of our clients and expanded our geographical presence in China.

About ALB
Asian Legal Business (ALB) is owned by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. It provides authoritative and unbiased insights to legal professionals throughout Asia-Pacific and the Middle East regions.

Please contact our Mr. Eric Lui for any enquiries or further information.

The US White House officials are intending to propose a new immigration policy, such as hiring 10,000 new immigration enforcement agents. The proposal is not related to the recent DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program) controversy; it is simply one of a broad set of immigration principles that the White house supports.

The blueprint of the principles generally fall into three categories: 1) securing the border, 2) more restricted immigration law to protect American workers and 3) better enforcement on the current immigration laws. The White House will increase the number of immigration agents to achieve the above.

Furthermore, the White House is also considering the implementation of an online system that allows businesses to check their immigration application status quicker and increase the visa fee for visa applications.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/us/politics/white-house-immigration-rules-draft.html

We are delighted to announce that our Partner and Head of Banking and Finance Department Mr. Eric Lui has been reappointed by Secretary for Security Mr. John K. C. LEE as an observer of The Independent Police Complaints Council (“IPCC”) in November for a further term of two years. “It is my honor to be an Observer. I will keep my promises and do my best to perform the official duties.” Mr. Lui said.

Under the Observers Scheme, Observers who are appointed by the Secretary for Security may attend interviews and observe the collection of evidence in connection with CAPO’s investigation of Reportable Complaints. The observations can be carried out on a pre-arranged or surprise basis. The role of an IPCC Observer is primarily to observe and report. Through observations, observers will advise IPCC whether or not the interview or collection of evidence was conducted in a fair and impartial manner.

Please contact Mr. Eric Lui for any enquiries for further information.