“Secure first, then ride.” V2X technology and enhancing the safety of self-driving vehicles

New York partner Paul Keller interviews Jaeson Yoo, Chief Strategy Officer of Autocrypt, a leading V2X provider that offers services and solutions to secure communication lines between connected and autonomous vehicles and the outside world. 

Paul and Jaeson discuss the basics of V2X technology, the emergence of CV2X technology and its impact on V2X technology, cyber-security and data ownership issues, and, what the future may hold for not only autonomous vehicles but also for the cities in which they operate.

In Credit Podcast: The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed new “Customer Duty”

In this episode of In Credit, A&O’s consumer finance team Joanne Owens, Victoria Ferres, Sophie Skeet and Mercy Hadfield discuss the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposal to introduce a “Consumer Duty.”  The consultation paper is proposing firms provide a higher standard of care for consumers by asking themselves “would I be happy to be treated in the way my firm treats its customers”, or even “would I recommend my firm’s products and services to my friends and family?” 

The goals and themes echo those of previous consultations papers from the FCA, including the  treatment of vulnerable people which we discussed in a previous episode here, however the proposed measures could herald a “paradigm shift” in how business is conducted in the retail sector.

This episode will consider:

• the background to the paper
• the three elements of the Consumer Duty
• what this means for firms dealing with retail customers 

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Great Fund Insights podcast: Spotlight on opportunities in alternative investments in North Asia

This timely discussion is part of a series of Allen & Overy conversations on opportunities in alternative investments across our global funds network.

Hong Kong based partner, James Ford and Middle East based counsel, Kamar Jaffer put the spotlight on North Asia and as they discuss opportunities in alternative investments and market trends from both the manager and investor perspective.

Topics discussed in this podcast include:

• How fund managers have navigated the challenges of Covid-19
• The impact of the Hong Kong limited partnership fund regime and the trends of fund domicile being chosen by managers
• Reforms regulators in Hong Kong are considering to enhance the attractiveness of the region
• Investment strategies in North Asia that appeal to institutional investors
• Developments in the secondaries space
• Looking in to 2021 and beyond

This Great Fund Insights podcast will be of interest to sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, family offices, fund managers and portfolio companies with a focus on North Asia.

Trustee Discretion and The Keepwell Structure

In our latest edition of Trust Us, a podcast addressing hot topics for trustees in Asia Pacific, Louisa Ingham from our Corporate Trust & Agency team moderates a discussion covering trustee discretion and the use of Keepwell structures as a form of credit enhancement.

• Trustee Discretion – When, why and how

Head of our Asia Pacific Corporate Trust & Agency team, Tim Beech, looks at when trustee discretion should be used, why due care and consideration need to be applied to its use and how it can be exercised in a manner that protects the interests of the trustee.

• The Keepwell Structure as a credit enhancement – innovative, ineffective or both?

Senior Associate, Holly Hart, will outline the structure of a Keepwell bond, discuss the recent concerns regarding their ineffectiveness as a means to protect the holders in an insolvency and how it remains an effective credit enhancement feature for certain bond issuers and products.

The Trust Us series presents succinct overviews of hot topics for trustees in the APAC market and these podcasts are based on webinars hosted for clients.  Please note this episode was recorded on 18th May 2021 and references developments occurring at that time.

Virtual hearings and innovation – new opportunities?

Werner Eyskens, Andrew Bennett and Lauren Rasking discuss how they created a successful team with alternative remote support and local bubbles for a complex arbitration case.

Under the hood with Uber

In the latest installment of Propel, our podcast series on self-driving vehicles, New York partner Paul Keller interviews Lando Juarez, Uber’s Head of Legal for Autonomous Mobility and Delivery, about Uber’s historical and current efforts to leverage its demand aggregation platform technology with AV developers and fleet owners.

Listen to Paul and Lando as they discuss Uber’s recent sale of Uber Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora, Uber’s on-going involvement in the AV space post-sale and the overall state of AV development, which has been called the “moonshot of this generation.”

Great Fund Insights podcast: Spotlight on opportunities in alternative investments in Australia

Australia based partner, Jason Denisenko and Middle East based counsel, Kamar Jaffer put the spotlight on Australia as they discuss opportunities in alternative investments and market trends from both the manager and investor perspective.

Topics discussed in this podcast include:

• Recent trends in Australia’s fund raising environment
• The type of fund vehicles being used in Australia
• Investment strategies and opportunities in Australia
• Legal, regulatory and policy developments
• Fund managers’ focus on governance and economics
• The industry’s approach to ESG
• The trends on institutional capital
• Developments on secondaries
• Looking in to 2021 and beyond

This Great Fund Insights podcast will be of interest to sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, family offices, fund managers and portfolio companies with a focus on Australia.

Hong Kong’s approach to cross-border and insolvency recognition

Our APAC Restructuring & Recovery lawyers take a detailed look at the recent and significant decision by the Hong Kong court in Re Lamtex Holdings Limited.

This case concerns a Bermudan-incorporated debtor company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with its centre of main interests (‘COMI’) in Hong Kong and with operations in Mainland China and Hong Kong.  The Hong Kong court decided to wind up the company in view of the limited evidence that any proposed restructuring would be successful.

In a detailed discussion moderated by Karen Chan; Ian Chapman and Viola Jing from our Asia Pacific Restructuring & Recovery Group, along with Look Chan Ho of Des Voeux Chambers unpack the Hong Kong Court’s decision and discuss its implications for Hong Kong based restructurings on the recognition of offshore provisional liquidators and the availability of judicial assistance to stay enforcement action in Hong Kong. The panel consider the shift by the Hong Kong court towards an ‘UNCITRAL Model Law’ approach, displacing primacy of place of incorporation of the debtor company in favour of its COMI, and discuss the following issues:

• The Hong Kong court’s recent approach to the jurisdiction to wind up foreign companies and the debtors’ application for adjournment for restructuring purposes.
• What is the direction of the Hong Kong court’s approach to application by foreign liquidators and provisional liquidators for recognition and assistance in Hong Kong?
• In light of the Lamtex Decision, what are the pros and cons for companies looking to have “soft-touch” provisional liquidators appointed in the place of incorporation?
• If recognition and assistance of foreign insolvency proceedings in Hong Kong is discretionary, what are the alternative options? Is there an option for a CRO as an alternative?
• How should the future of the restructuring and cross-border recognition regime look like? Should section 193 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance be amended?
• If section 193 is amended, is COMI the deciding factor?

In Credit Podcast - Episode 6: Key takeaways from the Financial Conduct Authority’s finalised guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers

In this episode of In Credit, A&O consumer finance team Joanne Owens, Victoria Ferres and Sophie Skeet are joined by A&O Consulting executive director Claire Haydon to discuss the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) long-awaited finalised guidance on vulnerable customers. This guidance applies to all firms where the FCA’s Principles for Businesses apply, regardless of sector and to the supply of products or services to retail customers even if a firm does not have a direct client relationship with the customer.

In this episode, the panellists explain how firms should understand the harms their customers may be vulnerable to throughout the whole customer journey so that those firms can ensure that vulnerable customers receive the same fair treatment and outcomes as other customers. The panellists also look in detail at the specific chapters including:

• Understanding the needs of vulnerable customers
• Skills and capabilities of staff
• Taking practical action
• Monitoring and evaluating compliance

For information on this or any related topics, please get in touch with the speakers, or your usual A&O contact.

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Virtual hearings – the psychological aspects of virtual hearings

As part of Allen & Overy’s interview series on virtual hearings, Frankfurt partner Anna Masser interviews Dr Ula Cartwright-Finch on the psychological side of virtual hearings.