Asian Legal Review

The 2014 Companies Act consolidated Ireland’s previous company legislation into a single act. It also made a number of reforms including introducing the facility for mergers of Irish companies, also known as ‘domestic mergers’.

ANALYSIS: Where a seller and buyer have agreed to enter into an agreement for the transfer of the assets of a target company (an asset transfer) the merits for deciding to do this instead of a share purchase will have been considered at length from a business, accounting, tax and legal perspective.

New Zealand police and customs officials have seized 190kg of cocaine with a street value of up to NZ$36 million (US$25 million) that was hidden in a shipment of bananas in the country’s largest ever drug bust.
A 41-year-old man was arrested in neighbouring Australia in connection with the seizure, New Zealand authorities said in a statement. .
The haul followed an Australian investigation into an organised crime group. Officials there said a potential shipment of illicit drugs was…

A law firm is not required to hand over details of clients they had advised on setting up offshore companies and trusts to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the first-tier tribunal (FTT) has ruled.

The bells tolled on September 28, 1901, to signal an early-morning attack on American troops, just as they were eating breakfast. The attack almost wiped out the company of American soldiers, killing 48 of them in a rare victory in a war that the Philippines would end up losing.
The US commander’s response was swift. He ordered the killing of all Filipino males above the age of 10 who were involved in fighting US forces. The Americans razed the town of Balangiga, which had been abandoned…

New web and phone apps in India are helping women stay safe in public spaces by making it easier for them to report harassment and get help, developers say.
Women are increasingly turning to technology to stay safe in public spaces which in turn helps the police to map “harassment prone” spots – from dimly lit roads to bus routes and street corners.
Safety is the biggest concern for women using public and private transport, according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey…

A voluntary repatriation of Rohingya Muslim refugees to their native Myanmar was scrapped by Bangladesh on Thursday, after officials were unable to find anyone who wanted to return. The refugees “are not willing to go back now,” said Refugee Commissioner Abul Kalam, adding that officials “can’t force them to go” but will continue to try to “motivate them so it happens.” The announcement came after about 1,000 Rohingya demonstrated at a camp in…

Businesses must continue to plan for a range of possible outcomes around the UK’s withdrawal from the EU despite the publication of a detailed draft withdrawal agreement, an expert has warned.

Over 80% of large employers have taken or have planned to take action to address gender pay inequalities as a result of new transparency requirements, according to new research.

US President Donald Trump’s absence from two high profile Asian summits has raised questions as to America’s right to be a leader in the region, but analysts remain uncertain on whether China is ready to supplant it.
“If Asia matters to America, why is your leader President Trump not here?” Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh asked his American counterparts of the US leader’s decision to skip the East Asian Summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (…