Rules are shifting, and risk is now on multiple fronts. Externally, companies must identify pitfalls in investments, projects and tax; internally, they must maintain clear boundaries around liability, compliance and confidential information. This series focuses on key inflection points in cross-border operations and corporate governance to help businesses retain room to manoeuvre
Tag: Layered Control
Corporate criminal risk: Pitfalls and course corrections
Criminal exposure is the risk companies can least afford
Latest cautious steps in China’s maturing bankruptcy law
With fear for bankruptcy reorganisation largely dissipated and cities exploring personal bankruptcy, China is slowly but surely maturing its insolvency scheme
Navigating mining dispute resolution
A long-time legal adviser to the coal and energy sector, the author has navigated multiple episodes of upheaveal in mining
Relearning trade secret protection in the age of AI agents
In recent years, in-house counsel discussion of AI and trade secrets has largely focused on the scenario of “staff feeding data into ChatGPT”, which is a valid concern
Case study: Seeking compensation for ‘no contract’ overseas projects
In 2018, a large state-owned design institute signed a strategic co-operation agreement with a Hong Kong investment company to jointly develop a hydropower project in Nepal
Responding to legal challenges in overseas investment
As geopolitical shifts and tighter scrutiny reshape Belt and Road investments, businesses must adopt full-cycle legal strategies to ensure stability and growth.
Using SPVs to control founder risks in VAM agreements
In investment and M&A deals, valuation adjustment mechanism (VAM) agreements, also known as bet-on agreements, are increasingly used to bind the parties’ interests and drive the target’s performance
Partner compliance and trade secret protection in the AI era
This article focuses on two areas, third party governance and trade secret protection, setting out the key shifts and compliance priorities driven by AI
Implications of Asian source countries asserting tax rights
The post-base-erosion-and-profit-shifting (BEPS) world is reshaping international tax rules

























