Locking the deal-making gates: the world turns protectionist

Back to Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee publications

18–29 May 2020

Virtual Entrepreneurship Conference

Black Swan Ruling: entrepreneurship and the economy under and after the pandemic

Wednesday 27 May 2020

Locking the deal-making gates: the world turns protectionist. State intervention in foreign direct investments and the effects on the transaction process

Co-Moderators

Sven von Mensenkampff  Pavia e Ansaldo, Milan

Dominik Ziegenhahn  Raschke von Knobelsdorff Heiser, Hamburg; Programme Officer, IBA International Commerce and Distribution Committee

Speakers

Steven A Cohen  Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York; Senior Vice Chair, IBA Corporate and M&A Law Committee

Arthur Davis  Addisons, Sydney

Patrik Peyer  Niederer Kraft Frey, Zürich

Lisa Wright  Slaughter and May, London

Rapporteur

Sven von Mensenkampff  Pavia e Ansaldo, Milan

The webinar aimed at analysing general attitude, towards foreign investments, development of existing restrictive rules and the influence of the Covid-19 crisis on this development, as well as giving an outlook to the future. A comparative review of the developments and regulations in a number of key jurisdictions around the world was presented and discussed.

Session

After a short introduction by Marco Rizzi, CHAGBE Chair and the moderators’ and speakers’ presentations, each speaker and moderator began by giving a short description of the existing regulations in their jurisdiction (Australia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) on Foreign Direct Investments.

Dominik Ziegenhahn and Sven von Mensenkampff additionally gave a short insight into the European legal framework on FDI, which has recently been particularly influential for the jurisdiction of the single Member States.

A round of questions followed on the extent and development of protective measures in the panellists’ jurisdictions, and their expectations for future development.

Subsequently, panellists discussed the influence of FDI regulations on the deal-making process and gave insights into practical cases they have experienced.

Recording

A full recording of the webinar can be accessed on the IBA website at:  /Locking-Deal-Making-Gates

Handout

In the context of the webinar, a handout detailing FDI regulations and development in the following 43 jurisdictions was produced:

Europe, the Middle East and Africa: the European Union; Austria; Belarus; Bulgaria; Cyprus; Denmark; Estonia; France; Germany; Greece; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Luxemburg; the Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; Slovakia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; the United Kingdom.

The Americas: Argentina; Brazil; Canada; Mexico; Peru; the United States; Uruguay.

Asia: Bangladesh; China; Hong Kong SAR; India; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Nepal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; Thailand.

Oceania: Australia; New Zealand.

The handout can be accessed and downloaded from the IBA website at: /Locking-Deal-Making-Gates