Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
More options
Toggle width
Share this page
Share this page
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Menu
Install the app
Install
Forums
Law Firm Events
Law Firm Deadlines
TCLA TV
Members
Leaderboards
Premium Database
Premium Chat
Commercial Awareness
Future Trainee Advice
Forums
Aspiring Lawyers - Interviews & Vacation Schemes
Commercial Awareness Discussion
Commercial Awareness Update - October 2019
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sara Moon" data-source="post: 14521" data-attributes="member: 525"><p><span style="font-size: 15px">Welcome to this week’s commercial update!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">The topics for this weeks write ups are:</span></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><span style="font-size: 15px">Saudi Aramco IPO [USER=525]@Sara Moon[/USER]</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><span style="font-size: 15px">IMF Publishes October 2019 Global Financial Stability Report ([USER=1562]@ELA[/USER])</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><span style="font-size: 15px">OECD’s New Corporate Tax Regime [USER=1643]@Moni[/USER]</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><span style="font-size: 15px">WH Smith’s Expansion into the Travel Retail Market ([USER=1550]@Sairah[/USER])</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><span style="font-size: 15px">Back to Basics: Facebook (by [USER=1]@Jaysen[/USER])</span></li> </ol><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>1. Saudi Aramco IPO [USER=525]@Sara Moon[/USER]</u></strong></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>The story:</strong><br /> Last week, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, announced to further delay its initial public offering (IPO), which was due on Sunday. IPO refers to the process of a private company first offering its shares to public investors. Aramco originally planned to list part of it in 2018, but it has been continuously delaying its market debut. Last week’s decision to delay was in response to last month’s drone and missile strikes on Aramco’s oil facilities, which destroyed half of Saudi Arabia’s oil capacity. Aramco has decided to wait until the publishing of its quarterly results, which will clarify the impact of the attack, before deciding the right timing for the IPO. This is because the third-quarter results will affect the pre-IPO valuations of the company.<br /> <br /> <strong>Impact on businesses and law firms:</strong><br /> The IPO of Aramco is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a plan introduced in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reduce the country’s dependence on oil by diversifying the economy. The IPO is expected to bring several benefits. Firstly, it will allow the company to attract greater cash investments by selling stocks to the general public, and the investments raised will contribute to the Public Investment Fund, the fund that is used for the Vision 2030. Secondly, it will open up once completely state-controlled Saudi’s oil market to foreign investors. However, with Aramco planning to initially list only 1-2% of it on Tadawul (or Saudi Stock Exchange), the impact of IPO could be rather minimal. It is worth noting here that Saudi Arabia opened up its stock market to international investors in 2015.<br /> <br /> As part of the Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is also reforming its laws to bring more transparency and efficiency to attract foreign investors. For example, Saudi lawmakers approved measures to protect investors, such as implementing more efficient dispute resolution processes, and relaxed rules of listing shares on Tadawul. Diversification efforts by the country could open up greater deals for law firms to advise on, such as joint ventures between foreign and Saudi Arabian companies, Saudi Arabian company’s IPO in a foreign stock exchange, M&As and so on. Foreign law firms may form partnerships with Saudi law firms to effectively advise on the associated regulatory matters, which will continuously change and improve as the country works on Vision 2030. <br /> <br /> <strong><u>2. IMF Publishes October 2019 Global Financial Stability Report ([USER=1562]@ELA[/USER] )</u></strong></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>The Story:</strong><br /> Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published its October 2019 <em>Global Financial Stability Report</em>. It outlines current financial and economic trends, identifies ensuing risks and suggests policies to prevent crises.<br /> <br /> The IMF begins by acknowledging that since its last report in April 2019, economic activity has continued to weaken and accommodative monetary policies (when central banks lower interest rates to make borrowing cheaper) have been implemented. It recognises the short-term value of such policies to support economies but expresses fears that in the medium- to long-term, “easy financial conditions are encouraging financial risk-taking and fuelling a further build-up of vulnerabilities in some sectors and countries.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Impact On Businesses And Law Firms:</strong><br /> The logic behind lowering interest rates is that it makes borrowing cheaper and encourages companies and individuals to borrow and spend, boosting the economy. However, the IMF notes that the flipside of this policy is that in the event of an economic downturn, some companies may not be able to service all the debt they have taken on.<br /> <br /> Moreover, for banks (and some investors), lower interest rates mean lower profit and returns. The IMF is therefore concerned that to maintain financial returns and compensate for low rates, investors take on riskier assets.<br /> <br /> To tackle these financial vulnerabilities, the IMF recommends maintaining supervision of bank credit risk assessment and lending practices, and calls for more stringent disclosure and transparency standards for nonbank financial institutions. Note that this recommendation interestingly comes not long after US officials under Donald Trump did exactly the opposite last August, when they relaxed the Volcker rule, which was written after the financial crisis to stop banks from making risky trades with their own money. There is arguably a tension here, between single investing entities for whom profit and political allegiances matter, and global and politically neutral institutions like the IMF, who focus on the need for collective financial responsibility to counter systemic risk.<br /> <br /> Businesses, investors and financial institutions are having to balance their quest for profitability with risk-mitigation and compliance with fluctuating regulations. These are concerns for commercial lawyers too, because part of their job is to help clients navigate changing economic conditions and compliance regimes through contractual means. <br /> <br /> <br /> </span></li> </ul></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sara Moon, post: 14521, member: 525"] [SIZE=4]Welcome to this week’s commercial update! The topics for this weeks write ups are:[/SIZE] [LIST=1] [*][SIZE=4]Saudi Aramco IPO [USER=525]@Sara Moon[/USER][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]IMF Publishes October 2019 Global Financial Stability Report ([USER=1562]@ELA[/USER])[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]OECD’s New Corporate Tax Regime [USER=1643]@Moni[/USER][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]WH Smith’s Expansion into the Travel Retail Market ([USER=1550]@Sairah[/USER])[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]Back to Basics: Facebook (by [USER=1]@Jaysen[/USER])[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=4][LIST][*][SIZE=4][B][U]1. Saudi Aramco IPO [USER=525]@Sara Moon[/USER][/U][/B][/SIZE][/LIST] [LIST][*][SIZE=4][B]The story:[/B] Last week, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, announced to further delay its initial public offering (IPO), which was due on Sunday. IPO refers to the process of a private company first offering its shares to public investors. Aramco originally planned to list part of it in 2018, but it has been continuously delaying its market debut. Last week’s decision to delay was in response to last month’s drone and missile strikes on Aramco’s oil facilities, which destroyed half of Saudi Arabia’s oil capacity. Aramco has decided to wait until the publishing of its quarterly results, which will clarify the impact of the attack, before deciding the right timing for the IPO. This is because the third-quarter results will affect the pre-IPO valuations of the company. [B]Impact on businesses and law firms:[/B] The IPO of Aramco is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a plan introduced in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reduce the country’s dependence on oil by diversifying the economy. The IPO is expected to bring several benefits. Firstly, it will allow the company to attract greater cash investments by selling stocks to the general public, and the investments raised will contribute to the Public Investment Fund, the fund that is used for the Vision 2030. Secondly, it will open up once completely state-controlled Saudi’s oil market to foreign investors. However, with Aramco planning to initially list only 1-2% of it on Tadawul (or Saudi Stock Exchange), the impact of IPO could be rather minimal. It is worth noting here that Saudi Arabia opened up its stock market to international investors in 2015. As part of the Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is also reforming its laws to bring more transparency and efficiency to attract foreign investors. For example, Saudi lawmakers approved measures to protect investors, such as implementing more efficient dispute resolution processes, and relaxed rules of listing shares on Tadawul. Diversification efforts by the country could open up greater deals for law firms to advise on, such as joint ventures between foreign and Saudi Arabian companies, Saudi Arabian company’s IPO in a foreign stock exchange, M&As and so on. Foreign law firms may form partnerships with Saudi law firms to effectively advise on the associated regulatory matters, which will continuously change and improve as the country works on Vision 2030. [B][U]2. IMF Publishes October 2019 Global Financial Stability Report ([USER=1562]@ELA[/USER] )[/U][/B][/SIZE][/LIST] [LIST][*][B]The Story:[/B] Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published its October 2019 [I]Global Financial Stability Report[/I]. It outlines current financial and economic trends, identifies ensuing risks and suggests policies to prevent crises. The IMF begins by acknowledging that since its last report in April 2019, economic activity has continued to weaken and accommodative monetary policies (when central banks lower interest rates to make borrowing cheaper) have been implemented. It recognises the short-term value of such policies to support economies but expresses fears that in the medium- to long-term, “easy financial conditions are encouraging financial risk-taking and fuelling a further build-up of vulnerabilities in some sectors and countries.” [B]Impact On Businesses And Law Firms:[/B] The logic behind lowering interest rates is that it makes borrowing cheaper and encourages companies and individuals to borrow and spend, boosting the economy. However, the IMF notes that the flipside of this policy is that in the event of an economic downturn, some companies may not be able to service all the debt they have taken on. Moreover, for banks (and some investors), lower interest rates mean lower profit and returns. The IMF is therefore concerned that to maintain financial returns and compensate for low rates, investors take on riskier assets. To tackle these financial vulnerabilities, the IMF recommends maintaining supervision of bank credit risk assessment and lending practices, and calls for more stringent disclosure and transparency standards for nonbank financial institutions. Note that this recommendation interestingly comes not long after US officials under Donald Trump did exactly the opposite last August, when they relaxed the Volcker rule, which was written after the financial crisis to stop banks from making risky trades with their own money. There is arguably a tension here, between single investing entities for whom profit and political allegiances matter, and global and politically neutral institutions like the IMF, who focus on the need for collective financial responsibility to counter systemic risk. Businesses, investors and financial institutions are having to balance their quest for profitability with risk-mitigation and compliance with fluctuating regulations. These are concerns for commercial lawyers too, because part of their job is to help clients navigate changing economic conditions and compliance regimes through contractual means. [/LIST] [/SIZE] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?
Post reply
Forums
Aspiring Lawyers - Interviews & Vacation Schemes
Commercial Awareness Discussion
Commercial Awareness Update - October 2019
Top
Bottom
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…