Issue #50: What Goes Up, Must Come Down
Welcome to the 50th edition of OIA!
Here are the latest 🌶 headlines in APAC:
Ling Yah
P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!
You’re All Liable!
The impact of China Evergrande Group's liquidation, once the country's largest property developer, widens.
🍿 What Happened?
After failing to restructure its $23 billion offshore debt, Evergrande's locally listed entity was ordered into liquidation by a Hong Kong court in January.
Now, the liquidators have launched legal proceedings against PricewaterhouseCoopers, real estate services company CBRE Group, and investment banking advisory firm Avista Advisory Group, alleging negligence and misrepresentation.
But that's not all - they're also going after Evergrande's founder, Hui Ka Yan, and other top executives, seeking to recover a whopping $6 billion.
👀 Takeaway
This legal battle is more than just a corporate squabble - it's a stark reminder of the far-reaching consequences of financial mismanagement and the potential liability of auditors and advisors. The outcome could set precedents for how liquidators pursue assets globally, especially when dealing with mainland China.
Moreover, it highlights the delicate balance auditors must strike between serving their clients and maintaining their integrity.
As this drama unfolds, one thing's certain: the fallout from Evergrande's collapse will continue to provide plenty of fodder for bar-side chats among APAC's legal elite for years to come.
Protect the Kids?!
The US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have launched a legal assault on TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
🍿 What Happened?
The lawsuit alleges "widespread violations" of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), claiming that the video-sharing app has been knowingly collecting and retaining personal information from users under 13 without parental consent.
This isn't TikTok's first legal rodeo - the company was fined $5.7 million in 2019 for similar violations by its predecessor, Musical.ly.
Despite agreeing to changes then, the government now claims TikTok has continued to flout the rules, even in its supposedly child-friendly "Kids Mode".
👀 Takeaway
This legal drama is more than just another headache for TikTok - it's a potential game-changer for the entire social media industry. With potential fines of up to $51,744 per violation per day, the financial stakes are astronomical. But the implications go beyond TikTok's bottom line.
This case could set new precedents for how social media platforms handle children's data, potentially forcing a radical redesign of age verification and parental consent mechanisms across the board. It also adds fuel to the ongoing debate about TikTok's Chinese ownership and data security concerns.
As the lawsuit unfolds alongside TikTok's challenge to a forced-sale law, the app's 170 million US users might find themselves caught in a tug-of-war between privacy concerns, national security fears, and their love for viral dance challenges.
One thing's for sure - this legal battle will be anything but a quick scroll through your For You page!
EPF Repaid
Sri Lanka's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has finally recouped a whopping Rs. 231 million (approximately USD 2.75 million) from a contentious share purchase of LAUGFS Gas PLC!
🍿 What Happened?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed action against W.K.H. Wegapitiya, U.K. Tilak N de Silva, and T.I. Hulangamuwa for alleged market manipulation involving the EPF's purchase of 33 million LAUGFS Gas shares on October 10, 2011.
After years of legal wrangling, the accused agreed to compound the offences, repaying the EPF and contributing to the SEC's Compensation Fund.
👀 Takeaway
This resolution is more than just a win for the EPF. It serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of market manipulation.
What goes up must eventually come down – with interest!
Spotlight: Hidemi Otani
What is your current role?
I am currently an associate lawyer at Hiroo Park Law Firm based in Tokyo.
I am also the vice chairperson at the committee for the human rights of foreigners at Tokyo Bar Association and a member of Legal Counsel Team of the Third Lawsuit for a Selective Seperate-Surname System for Married Couples.
My practice area is broad but in summary, my focus is to support foreigners and people who have foreign roots or who have connections with foreign countries. I handle divorce, child related cases, inheritance, criminal, litigation (usual civil matters), labor, immigration, setting up new businesses in Japan, commercial law etc., and I always try to bridge/fill the gap between the Japanese legal system/culture and my clients using my language skills and the experience living abroad.
What is your proudest achievement?
My proudest achievement is that I decided to pursue what I truly wanted to do in my career life and switched my career towards that (which is what I do now!) after 3 years of practice as a business lawyer.
My passion for what I practice now comes from my experience spending 1 year abroad in high school where I found it very hard for me to live as a “foreigner”.
If you had 25 hours in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?
I would write a diary to reflect the good things that happened that day, lessons learned, and set a goal for the next day.
This is what I used to do as a student and I loved this routine of mine, but never made it every day after starting my career. Sleep always came first than this important routine.
If you weren't a lawyer, what would you be?
Open my own café! Café has always been a very important and relaxing place for me. I would write a diary there, read books, or just relax.
My own law firm that I wish to open someday would definitely have a meeting room like a café, with drinks to be served. My client can choose a drink from a menu!
Your favourite food haunt is...?
Just realized that my favorite food haunts are all that I grew up with. Don’t the food you’ve always had from your childhood taste the best?
Tonkatsu Sankin at Yotsuya – “Tonkatsu” is pork-cutlet.
Owariya at Yotsuya Sanchome- They serve the best Miso based soup with thick noodle called “Kishimen”. This cuisine is originally from Nagoya Japan.
Now it’s time for sweets!
Taiyaki Wakaba from Yotsuya- “Taiyaki” is Japanese fish-shaped pancake filled with red bean paste. This Taiyaki place is one of the best 3 in Tokyo, and during the weekends, you would have to line up for 3 hours to get one.
Ichigo Mame Daifuku from Oosumi-Tamaya- Ichigo Mame Daifuku is a rice cake filled with red beans and strawberry inside. It was not usual to put strawberry inside of rice cake until this Oosumi-Tamaya first came up with this idea back in 1985.
There is a saying/proverb in Japanese “Hana yori Dango”, which literally means “Rice-dumpling over flowers”, in English it would be “Bread is better than the songs of birds”. This is why I chose my photo having a stick of rice dumpling!
Food Feature
This... might not be everyone's cup of tea, and that's assuming that you like durian in the first place!
Menya Shi Shi Do loves experimenting with different dishes and its quirky durian ramen is BACK. It's so unusual that... we had to mention it. Some love it, some hate it and others think it exists just for social media points.
Perhaps the only way to find out is if you hop by when you're in Kuala Lumpur one of these days?
P/S: There is only 30 bowls/day for a limited time, so make sure to drop by soon!
Address: Google Maps, Instagram, Facebook
Are you a student or young lawyer?
Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?
We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at editor@overheard.asia!
Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!