Asia

JSM Beijing Representative Office ("JSM") continues to give back to the community by donating 20 sets of personal computers, 15 sets of basketball uniforms and 100 sets of stationery and RMB30,000 to government sponsored Sihai School in Yanqing County, a remote county more than 100 kilometres north of Beijing, China.

On 8 June 2013, the Beijing Municipal Human Resource and Social Security Bureau and the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau announced that the local average monthly wage for 2012 was CNY5,223, an increase of 11.8 percent on the 2011 average of CNY4,672.

Beijing's 2012 local average monthly wage is to be used as the new cap.

Wages, Overtime and Compensation (Cont'd)

• Can I unilaterally terminate the employment of the employee after the medical treatment period?
• How can I reduce the risk of an employee abusing sick leave entitlement?
• How many days of maternity leave is a female employee entitled to in China?

In the affluent sector of our community, many wealthy parents provide financial assistance to their adult children, ranging from the purchase of properties to providing continuous generous financial support.

In Vietnam, oil and gas exploration and production operations are carried out on the basis of a production sharing contract (PSC) to be entered into with Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN). The model PSC was first introduced by the government in its Decree 139 dated 11 November 2005 ("Old Model PSC"). Almost eight years later, the government issued a revised model PSC in Decree 33 dated 22 April 2013 ("New Model PSC").

The New Model PSC becomes effective on 8 June 2013 and applies to all PSCs signed after that date, except for blocks for which the Prime Minister has approved basic technical and commercial terms. Below is a summary of the most notable changes contained in the New Model PSC.

Calculation and Payment of Economic Compensation (cont'd)

• Does the formula for calculating statutory economic compensation under the PRC Labour Contract Law apply in respect of an employee's pre-2008 period of employment?

Pending legislation in India may create a novel and material development in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that likely would affect all Indian corporations as well as international corporations with subsidiaries or affiliates incorporated in India.

The Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) handed down its long-awaited decision in Fully Profit (Asia) Limited vs. The Secretary for Justice for and on behalf of the Director of Lands (FACV 17/2012) on 13 May 2013. The appellant Fully Profit owns a site at Nam Kok Road, Kowloon City, comprising five lots held under five separate virtually identical Government Leases, each of which contains a restriction that the owner cannot erect or allow to be erected more than one house on the lot. The CFA reversed the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal and held that a 26-storey building straddling the five lots cannot be a “house” within the meaning of the word in the Government Leases.

Calculation and Payment of Economic Compensation (cont'd)

• Is an employer in the PRC obliged to make a severance payment to its employee when the employment contract comes to an end due to the expiry of its agreed duration (rather than due to the employee being terminated)?
• Where economic compensation is payable, how is it calculated?
• What is the "Calculation Base", and is it capped?
• How is the "Service Period" defined?

In The Joint and Several Liquidators of QQ Club Limited (in liquidation) v. Golden Year Limited (HCCW 245/2011, 9 April 2013) (QQ Club), the Court of First Instance held that a liquidator's costs in pursuing an avoidance claim are "fees and expenses properly incurred in preserving, realizing or getting in the assets", and are payable out of the company's assets in priority to all other payments prescribed in rule 179 of the Companies (Winding-up) Rules. In reaching this conclusion, the court distinguished the English Court of Appeal's decision in Lewis v. Commissioner of Inland Revenue and others [2001] 3 All ER 499 (Lewis v. IRC), which has attracted a considerable amount of criticism in England.

Announced on the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) website on 3 May 2013, the Guideline on the Handling of Evidence for Anti-monopoly Cases (Liaoning Guideline) issued by Liaoning Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC) represents the next phase of Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) enforcement activity by the SAIC.

An update on the current situation of arbitration cases of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission (CIETAC Shanghai) and CIETAC South-China Sub-Commission (CIETAC South-China) and some practical recommendations in handling such cases in light of the uncertainties.