In brief On 20 July 2021, the UK Government announced that the National Security and Investment Act will enter into full force on 4 January 2022. To help businesses prepare for commencement of the regime, the Government also published alongside this announcement a series of further guidance notes and materials. The NSI Act creates a new, self-standing UK investment screening regime on national security grounds, comparable to CFIUS in the US. The Act is extremely…
What are the latest developments? On 20 July 2021, the UK Government announced that the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (“NSI Act” or “Act”) will enter into full force on 4 January 2022. To help businesses and investors prepare for the commencement of the regime, the Government also published alongside this announcement a series of further guidance notes and materials (see here). As mentioned in our previous blog posts on this topic (see here,…
As flagged in our previous blog post accessible here, the UK Government has now confirmed, at the House of Lords Report Stage on 15 April, the removal of the 15% threshold for mandatory notification under the National Security and Investment Bill (“NS&I Bill”) regime. This is the first significant amendment to the draft regime in the UK Parliamentary process, and will reduce materially the scope of transactions subject to notification requirements. The threshold for mandatory…
Recent media reports indicate that the EU and China are making progress in long-running negotiations towards a deal to remove barriers to foreign investment. Agreement may potentially be reached by the end of 2020, after seven years of often difficult talks. Negotiations regarding an EU-China investment agreement initially kicked off in 2013. The aim of the agreement is to provide certainty, protection and predictable market access for EU and China investors, with the key sticking…
Date: Wednesday 2 December 2020Time: 2 – 3 pm (GMT) Registration link: here The UK’s foreign investment landscape is heading for a complete overhaul. On 11 November 2020, the UK Government introduced a new law that significantly expands its powers to review transactions on national security grounds, in line with global trends of increasing regulatory scrutiny of incoming foreign investments. Baker McKenzie has analysed the new law and regulatory impact for businesses in detail so that…
On 23 September 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) ended a public consultation into proposals to create new review mechanisms aimed at countering distortive effects of foreign subsidies in the EU single market. The premise of the proposals is that some companies operating within the EU may be at an unfair competitive advantage, if they are receiving foreign subsidies not available to their EU counterparts due to state aid rules. The new mechanisms would apply to…
Introduction The UK’s current investment review regime is set for a significant overhaul with the publication of the National Security and Investment Bill (“NSIB”), anticipated before the end of this year. Some have argued that the existing UK public interest regime – contained in the Enterprise Act 2002 – is not fit for purpose, and that without legislative reform, the UK would be left exposed at a time of evolving national security threats. The NSIB…
Overview The COVID-19 crisis, and resulting increased global demand for medical equipment and supplies, has shone a light on the fragility of many critical supply chains. This has led to a broad strengthening of foreign investment review (“FIR”) rules, as countries seek to safeguard such critical supply chains against perceived hostile foreign takeovers, resulting in increased regulatory hurdles for companies in strategically important sectors. In-depth National FIR rules allow governments to review and potentially to…
Overview Within the next few months, the UK Government is expected to introduce a new self-standing investment screening regime, representing a fundamental overhaul and major expansion of its existing powers to intervene in transactions on national security grounds. These upcoming changes reflect a broader global trend of sharpened scrutiny towards inbound foreign investment, particularly in light of the COVID-19 situation and political mistrust of foreign State actors. Current regime There is currently no standalone investment…