Translator：Jiang Wenyu

On the evening of May 4, 2022, at 19:30 Beijing time, Shanghai Landing Law Offices held the "Inauguration Ceremony of LANDING (Mexico Office) and the First Latin American Investment Law Practice Forum" online, officially announcing the merger and launch of LANDING (Mexico Office). At the same time, the first Latin American Investment Law Practice Forum was held, inviting guests from domestic and foreign academia and lawyers to share the most cutting-edge and practical viewpoints and experiences of Latin American investment from the perspectives of foreign industrial legislations, establishment of overseas companies, and common overseas legal risks and precautions, etc., which was highly praised by the participating enterprises and lawyers. Online participation reached thousands of times.

The celebration ceremony and forum activities were grandly held under the presidency of Wang Yunqing, Senior Counsel and Head of Latin America Practice Group of Shanghai Landing Law Offices, and the opening speech of Director Liu Yixing.

 01

Director Liu Yixing: Why LANDING chose to expand outward at this time?

 In his speech, Mr. Liu Yixing, Director of the Management Committee of Shanghai Landing Law Offices, pointed out the direction for all LANDING people and colleagues in the legal profession: "We are in an era of rapid technological change, rapid social transformation, and multicultural fusion with unprecedented opportunities and challenges.... ...Today when we face a more uncertain and challenging future, the breadth and width of our LANDING career depends on whether LANDING people can fully recognize and navigate the parallel world which seems to be a bit unknown to others."

At the same time, Director Liu also put forward two important suggestions for the young lawyers who are in a daze: in terms of professionalism, we need to be more integrated with the two fields of economics and law; in terms of career map, we need to occupy the two markets of domestic and international with strong layout; and in terms of development concepts, we need to be brave enough to explore the two worlds of constructing the reality and the virtual world. Finally, Mr. Liu pointed out the significance of this forum: "The launch of the merger of LANDING's offices in Mexico is not just a simple expansion of LANDING's international map, but should be like today's Latin American Investment Law Practice Forum for more lawyers to focus on this platform and jointly enhance the professionalism; and the development of LANDING's business in Latin America is not just a simple pursuit of performance, but should always bear in mind that the career goal set by LANDING people at the beginning of the business- to build a Chinese-led international strong firm."

02

Mr. Chen Hui, Head of LANDING (Mexico Office): Legal Practices Related to Investment in Mexico

Next, Mr. Chen Hui, Head of Mexico Office of Landing Law Firm, shared the founding story of the law firm in Mexico, the vision of joining Landing's global network, the legal practice and compliance advice related to the establishment of Mexican companies and investment. Mr. Chen Hui is a licensed attorney in Mexico, the head of Landing's Mexico City office, and the official interpreter for the Mexican Federal Court. He has been working in large local companies in Mexico for a long time and is familiar with Mexican corporate finance and tax laws and regulations, import and export trade, intellectual property rights, labor laws and regulations, etc. He can use both Spanish and Chinese as working languages. Mr. Chen said that he joined LANDING family mainly because of the recognition and attraction of LANDING's concept of "establishing Chinese-led international strong firms", and hoped that after joining LANDING family, he could work together with colleagues of Landing's domestic and foreign branch offices, and cooperate with them to provide cost-effective localized services for the Chinese enterprises investing in Mexico.

03 Dr. Zhao Yixian, East China University of Political Science and Law: Characteristics of Brazilian Industrial Legislation

Brazil is one of the five BRICS countries, the largest economy in the whole America except the United States, and the largest trading partner with China in the region. However, as the official language of Brazil is Portuguese, professionals who know both Portuguese and law have been very scarce in China. Dr. Zhao Yixian, Director of the Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Countries Program at Institute of BRICS Legal Studies of ECUPL, and Assistant Researcher at Academy for China’s Rule of Law (ECUPL Think Tank), is one of the composite legal talents. She brought the topic of "Characteristics of Brazilian Industrial Legislation" to share with the forum audience. By explaining the macro industrial structure and Brazilian legislative procedures, Dr. Zhao demonstrated that enterprises not only can only passively comply with local laws and regulations, but also have the opportunity to participate in the formulation of industrial legislation, and put forward her own suggestions on the relevant industrial legislation, from passively complying with the rules to proactively participating in the formulation of the rules. Dr. Zhao's unique perspective of research and in-depth explanation were highly appreciated by Landing lawyers and the business audience.

The host Wang Yunqing also revealed to the audience that Dr. Zhao is presiding over the Ministry of Justice's scientific research project on rule of law and legal theory, "Industrial Legislation Trends and Countermeasures in Portuguese-speaking Countries", and the monograph publication of the results of this project has been funded and published under the title of Landing Law Offices. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year and published next year.

04

Marcelo, Cristiano, Representative of Brazilian Cooperative Lawyers: Common Legal Risks Related to Labor and Tax Laws of Chinese Enterprises in Brazil

There are also a considerable number of Chinese state-owned enterprises and private enterprises conducting trade and investment business in Brazil. Based on their practice experience and local insights, the two Brazilian attorneys remind Chinese enterprises of the legality of paying employees' salaries separately in Brazil and China, the standard of overtime pay for local employees, the possibility of defending against employee privacy, discrimination, and the duplication of local government service tax ISS, and other real and common issues faced by enterprises investing in Brazil. If these issues are not taken seriously and risk points are judged and controlled in advance, the lesson for the enterprise will also be millions of dollars in economic compensation and even criminal liability.

05

Ms. Yunqing Wang, Head of Latin America Practice Group of LANDING: Foreign Company Formation and Investment-related Legal Services in Argentina

Wang Yunqing, Senior Advisor, previously served as the Chief Representative of the Investment and Trade Bureau of a province in Argentina, stationed in China. Based on years of work experience with Argentine government departments and investment-related laws and policies, Wang Yunqing has compared the types and specific procedures for establishing and filing foreign-funded companies, as well as the registration processes in neighboring countries such as Brazil and Mexico. It is pointed out that although there are many similarities in the legal provisions in the investment field among Latin American countries, such as complex tax systems and strong protection of labor and the environment, there are significant differences in the definition of company types, the difficulty of application review, the certification of documents, and the mandatory requirements of local legal representation. Therefore, enterprises investing in multiple Latin American countries need to study and carefully select the laws and regulations of each country.

With the rise of the trend of resource nationalization and the new left-wing president taking office in Chile, the hot investment destinations in South America have gradually shifted from Chile, which used to be the top choice, to neighboring countries. Argentina is also one of the popular investment destinations recently, especially after Argentine President Fernandez's visit to China during the Spring Festival this year, participation in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the signing of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration between China and Argentina. There have been news reports of major projects in various fields such as mining, infrastructure, and nuclear power in Argentina reaching cooperation agreements with Chinese companies. Correspondingly, professional legal services will be in high demand for companies investing in Argentina. Landing's Latin American business team will focus on and increase research efforts in this area, striving to become a distinctive professional project in Landing's international legal services. 

06

Roundtable Forum: Overseas Investment Hotspots and Risk Prevention

Finally, four partners from Landing shared with the audience about the investment hotspots and risk prevention in overseas markets other than Latin America.

Ms. Yin Xiangnan, Director of Landing (Changsha office), shared the opportunities brought by RCEP for Chinese enterprises to go abroad, and the legal risk prevention of investing in Australia.

Mr. Tang Xiang, Deputy Director of International Trade and Investment Department and Head of European Practice Group of Shanghai Landing Law Offices, shared the investment environment in China and Europe, including the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the German transparent registration system on European investment.

Mr. Xueshan Huang, a founding partner of LANDING India and currently the head of Overseas Investment Department of LANDING (Shenzhen), shared the general trend and advantages of investment in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and the several traps and risk prevention of the investment process in developing countries.

Ms. Wang Chunhong, Senior Partner of Corporate M&A Department of Shanghai Landing Law Offices, shared the U.S. investment national security review and Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).

 During the forum, the guests also answered the questions from corporate legal executives about the risks and solutions brought by the Russia-Ukraine war to the overseas invested enterprises.

The forum was successfully concluded with a warm discussion among the four guests. The guests and audiences who participated in the online forum highly appreciated the richness, quality, depth and breadth of the content presented, and expressed that they could not get enough of it.

The successful hosting of this forum is due to the Landing people's persistent practice of the concept of " Chinese-led International Strong Firm" and taking a more solid step towards this great and realistic vision. In response to the strong demand of enterprises and clients, a series of special events on overseas investment practices with different themes will be held regularly in the future, so please look forward to it.