Asian Legal Review

Vietnam may give internet companies like Google and Facebook one year to comply with a controversial cybersecurity law, according to a draft decree that outlines how the draconian rule could be implemented.
The cybersecurity bill, which observers say mimic China’s repressive web control tools, is set to come into effect in January despite drawing sharp criticism from the US, the EU and internet freedom advocates. The bill would require tech companies to store data in the country, and…

Myanmar voters cast their ballots in a small but key by-election on Saturday, a rare local test of support for embattled leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party more than halfway through her time in office.
Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) swept to power in 2015 in a landslide victory ending decades of military rule.
But her tenure has been marred by a failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims driven out of the country by the army and stumbling peace talks with insurgent groups…

ANALYSIS: The blame for the disappointing progress of the UK’s smart meter rollout should not be laid at the door of the UK’s large energy suppliers. Many of the problems with the rollout stem from issues outside of their control.

The government intends to reform the corporate intangibles tax regime to partially re-instate relief for acquired goodwill and to prevent a de-grouping charge on a share sale qualifying for the substantial shareholdings exemption (SSE), according to the Budget documents .

ANALYSIS: For individuals the 2018 UK Budget was used to ensure compliance and reduce tax avoidance. In particular, taxation of property income has been tinkered with yet again, and a few capital gains tax exemptions tightened.

The core team of Singapore’s new generation of leaders will become evident next Sunday at the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) internal elections, with the identity of the country’s fourth prime minister emerging soon after.
The city state’s former prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, said the election of new leaders from the PAP’s fourth-generation (4G) to its central executive committee (CEC) on November 11 meant the issue of succession would be addressed by…

Embattled financier Low Taek Jho – popularly referred to as Jho Low – is now facing criminal indictments from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) over the 1MDB global financial corruption scandal.
The fugitive businessman, who is believed to be hiding in China, is also wanted by Malaysia and Singapore in connection with the 1MDB matter. But just how much hot water is the elusive, rotund financier in – and how difficult will it be to bring him in? Q. Just how much…

India has lodged protests with China and Pakistan over a new bus service from Xinjiang to Lahore, saying it passes through the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, violating its sovereignty. The bus project, linking Pakistan’s second-most populous city with the desert town of Kashgar in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a cluster of infrastructure ventures underway across Pakistan since 2015 and worth nearly…

United States navy chief Admiral John Richardson on Thursday said China should abide by a code of conduct for unplanned encounters at sea, as this would reduce chances of an incident or potential escalation of tensions if the two navies met.
His comments, made in Australia during his four-country tour of the Indo-Pacific, came a day after his stop in the Philippines, where he made clear the US Navy would continue patrolling the disputed South China Sea as part of its programme of freedom of…

ANALYSIS: A recent report on the regulation of cryptoassets provides clues about how UK authorities will support technological innovation after Brexit while addressing some of the risks that technology presents to consumers and markets.