Welcome to Herbert Smith Freehills’ new monthly private wealth industry updates in Asia.
Every month we survey ten Asian jurisdictions for legal developments concerning trust and estate planning which are of interest to the private wealth industry, and provide a succinct summary in a table format. The jurisdictions covered in the update are Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Japan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. We hope that these updates will prove to be a useful resource to keep private clients, business people, and lawyers abreast of legal updates in the region.
India
The Supreme Court quashes banks’ cryptocurrency ban
The Supreme Court has overturned a ban on cryptocurrency dealings imposed by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). RBI issued a circular in April 2018 prohibiting banks, financial institutions and other regulated institutions from providing any services related to virtual currencies. The directive gave banks three months to exit their existing operations. The Supreme Court accepted arguments put forward by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMI), representing the cryptocurrency exchange industry, that in the absence of a law banning trading in cryptocurrencies, doing so is a legitimate business activity that cannot lawfully be denied the constitutional right to banking service. It set aside the RBI circular of April 2018.
SEBI revises InvIT and REIT regulations
SEBI has published amended regulations for investment trusts (InvITs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The amendments prescribe the minimum qualifications for investment managers of InvITs and clarify that InvITs and REITs are not required to file draft offer documents in relation to fast track rights issues. The revised regulations are available on SEBI’s website.
The contents of this document are for reference purposes only. Some of the information comes from public sources and this may not be comprehensive, accurate or up to date; where we have relied on third party information and sources, this has not been verified by us. The document does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication, and any facts in this document should be checked for your specific circumstances at the time you wish to use or refer to them.
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Herbert Smith Freehills LLP has a Formal Law Alliance (FLA) with Singapore law firm Prolegis LLC, which provides clients with access to Singapore law advice from Prolegis. The FLA in the name of Herbert Smith Freehills Prolegis allows the two firms to deliver a complementary and seamless legal service.