Foreign direct investment

New UK foreign investment law to impact telecoms, digital and data transactions

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Summary By the end of 2021, many corporate transactions in the communications, data infrastructure, artificial intelligence, satellite and space technologies sectors (and some others) will be subject to mandatory notification to, and national security review by, the UK government. Implementation timetable The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (“Act“) became part of UK law on …

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UK proposes statutory backing for Huawei 5G ban

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On 24 November 2020, the UK Government started the legislative process for a new Telecoms (Security) law which will, when passed into law, provide statutory backing for their already announced policy objective to exclude Huawei (and potentially other ‘high risk vendors’) from the UK’s 5G (and other) networks on the grounds on national security. This …

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Ofcom sets 4 December deadline for UK 5G spectrum auction applications

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In a notice published today, 18 November 2020, Ofcom specified that the days for receipt of applications to participate in the 2021 UK 5G spectrum auctions are between the times of 10:00 (UK time) on 3 December 2020 and 16:00 (UK time) on 4 December 2020. More detail on the upcoming auctions can be found in this earlier post.

US restrictions sound death knell for Huawei?

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The US has updated its rules to prevent Huawei’s access to commercially available chips that use US technology in a move that could sound the death knell for the Chinese telecoms firm. Under new restrictions, announced on Monday 17 August by the US Commerce Department, companies globally will need to obtain a licence to sell …

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UK excludes Huawei from 5G

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UK excludes Huawei from 5G and broadband networks: the UK Government has announced a U-turn on Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks, following a meeting of the National Security Council, that will delay 5G rollout by two to three years and increase costs by up to £2 billion.

Singapore decides framework for allocation of 235 MHz of additional spectrum and encourages 4th MNO

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On the 18 February 2016, Singapore’s Infocomm Development Agency (IDA) published its decision on the framework for the allocation of an additional 235 MHz of spectrum. This follows their earlier consultations. Key points are set out below: Two stage process to encourage market entry by new entrant (4th MNO) The IDA wants to encourage market entry …

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Governing development finance organisations: measuring development impact

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Governance is important for both private and public sector organisations. For development finance organisations (such as IFC, CDC, Africa Development Bank and Asia Development Bank) which are publicly funded and invest in developing countries it is critical. A key part of governance is measuring the development impact that they have through setting goals and measuring the …

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Responsible investment in Myanmar

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Myanmar is a country with tremendous opportunities, but also tremendous risks. I was fortunate enough to host and chair a seminar in Singapore yesterday on responsible investment into Myanmar. Introduction by Rt. Hon Hugo Swire MP The seminar started with an introduction and overview by the Rt. Hon Hugo Swire MP, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Hugo …

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India opens telecoms sector to 100% foreign investment

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On Tuesday 16th July the Indian Government announced its decision to relax its foreign direct investment rules to permit 100% foreign investment in the telecoms sector, up from the prior cap of 74%. In the basic and cellular telecoms services sectors, 49 per cent foreign investment will now be allowed automatically, but investment above this remains subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Promotion …

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