September 2023 – According to Article 5 of the Serbian Banking Act (Zakon o bankama), no person other than a bank licensed in Serbia may engage in the granting of loans unless authorised by law. One Serbian law that does allow foreign banks (i.e., banks not established and licensed in Serbia) to provide cross-border loans to Serbian entities is the Serbian Foreign Exchange Act (Zakon o deviznom poslovanju). In particular, Article 18(7) of the Foreign Exchange Act expressly allows Serbian entities to borrow cross-border from foreign banks, which are not required to obtain a banking licence in Serbia for this purpose. Corporate finance Bearing in mind that raising capital on the capital markets through the issuance of bonds and
At the end of September, the long-awaited Regulation (EU) 2023/1804) on the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU (“AFIR”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Though the entry into force of AFIR is 13 April 2024, it is worth reviewing the key takeaways that the AFIR introduces as part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package. The AFIR sets binding national targets for the development of adequate EU alternative fuel infrastructure. The new regulation also establishes common technical specifications and requirements regarding the information to vehicle users for the provision of data and payment requirements. The AFIR includes detailed regulations regarding
Kinstellar’s team in Hungary has successfully advised a Hungarian company with a global presence in connection with the preparation and negotiation of a lease agreement for its new office headquarters. The deal is one of the largest transactions of its kind on the Hungarian real estate market. The Budapest office advised on various legal aspects throughout the transaction, the subject of which is the lease of more than 8,000 sqm in a Class A office building in Budapest. Kinstellar’s team was led by Partner Annamária Csenterics (Co-Head of the Hungarian Corporate/M&A service) and Of Counsel Mónika Frank (Co-Head of the Hungarian Real Estate service) and supported by Junior Associate Judit Sós.
Kinstellar is proud to announce that it has advised the Swedish appliances manufacturer Electrolux Group on the successful sale of its manufacturing facility in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, to the Swedish high-quality electric heat pumps manufacturer Qvantum for a cash consideration of EUR 38 million. The Kinstellar team was led by Barnabás Sági, Co-Head of the Budapest Real Estate service line, supported by Bertalan Ványa, Associate. The team also included Annamária Csenterics (Partner), Anna Szilágyi (Junior Associate), Judit Sós (Associate), Péter Vörös (Partner), Péter Gullai (Managing Associate), Dániel Péter (Managing Associate), and Szabolcs Szilágyi (Junior Associate).
On 12 September 2023, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the Labour Code after the legislation was returned by the Senate in July with several amendments. The Chamber of Deputies, however, ultimately approved the amendment in its original wording. After it is signed by the President, the amendment will come in to effect on the first day of the calendar month following its publication in the Collection of Laws (likely still in 2023). However, certain provisions concerning agreements on work performed outside employment relationships (e.g. regarding annual leave) will take effect on 1 January 2024. Major changes pursuant to the amendment to the Labour Code: Telework arrangements
The Czech Republic should soon have its own legal regulation for telemedicine. A government proposal is on its way to the Parliament to introduce a basic definition of telemedicine. Until now, there has been no legal definition, which in practice has led to many uncertainties and questions, including the possibility and conditions of provision by healthcare providers, but also, for example, the admissibility of reimbursement by health insurance companies. The proposed amendment to the Health Services Act should remove this uncertainty and will explicitly state that telemedicine is a legally permitted way of providing health services and will set out the framework conditions. Telemedicine services are defined
Turkey’s Competition Board (the "Board") rendered two significant decisions last year concerning online sales restrictions that provide a view forward for many undertakings. In its decisions, the Board scrutinised the commitment packages offered by BSH and Arçelik, two of the major small and large household appliances manufacturers in Turkey. The investigations against the companies (the “Investigations”) concerned whether Arçelik and/or BSH violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”) by preventing their authorised resellers from selling online and/or interfering with resellers’ resale prices. The Board accepted the commitment packages, which Arçelik and BSH revised
The first part of 2023 continued last year's trend of substantial changes to Romanian labour legislation, which is of real interest to both employers and employees. As such, both Law no. 53/2003 on the Labour Code (“Labour Code”) and Law no. 367/2022 on social dialogue (“Law on Social Dialogue”) have undergone several changes, some aimed at clarifying legal issues identified in practice and others at promoting flexibility at work and work-life balance. In this article, we present the latest legislative changes, as well as our recommendations for their implementation. I. Amendments to the Labour Code The latest legislative amendments continue the European and national policies implemented in recent
Kinstellar acted as the Czech counsel for the initial purchasers and lenders in connection with the debut offering by BENTELER International AG of two senior secured high-yield bonds due in 2028 with volumes of EUR 525 million and USD 500 million, together with the provision of a EUR 810 million syndicated term loan and a EUR 250 million revolving credit facility. The proceeds from the bond and the term loan will be used to fully refinance the existing restructuring indebtedness of the BENTELER Group. Headquartered in Salzburg, Austria, BENTELER Group is a global business dedicated to the conception and production of intricately crafted, customised components and modules tailored for the worldwide automotive sector, encompassing
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Our Team🇷🇸 📄 Read below a brief overview of non-bank lending in #Serbia written by Petar Kojdic, Partner and Head of Banking & Finance in our #Belgrade office. 👉🏼 #Investors who might see untapped potential in the #Serbian consumer #finance market need not be deterred by the immediate showstopper of having to invest heavily upfront to establish or acquire a bank in Serbia, as banks are typically the most regulated and expensive vehicles to operate. 💡 The alternative vehicle that could be considered is a #payment institution, which also needs to be incorporated in Serbia and licensed by the local regulator (the National Bank of Serbia), but the level of regulation applicable to payment institutions is still lighter compared to the all-encompassing #regulatory inventory applicable to banks. We hope that this article is of interest. 📧 Please get in touch with us for more details on payment institutions and non-bank lending opportunities in Serbia. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dzhBk2HB #intheknow #financialsector #financialservices #lending #financialinstitutions #doingbuisnessinserbia #leadinglawyers
🎮 Managing Associates Georgi Kanev (co-head of the firm-wide #IP&T service line) and Lukas A. Mrazik (co-head of the firm-wide #Data & #Cybersecurity services) have recently attended 📍 The Games Industry Law Summit in #Vilnius, #Lithuania, and highly appreciated the topics raised at this forum. 🔎 A summary of what shaped the discussions of #games industry’s top #legal professionals from 56 different countries below. 👇 #intheknow #gamingsector #gaming #leadinglawyers #events2023
Victor Constantinescu, managing partner of our #Bucharest office and co-head of the firm-wide real estate sector, joined “The big picture – #CEE #investment trends under the spotlight'' panel and commented on cross-border transactions and the most dynamic asset classes these days: “Geopolitics – both friendshoring, energy independence, and military investments – are driving money primarily into industrial and infrastructure projects, but it is only a matter of time before other real estate classes benefit. Investors should remain optimistic for the long-term, as the fundamentals remain strong.”
📢 🇪🇺 At the end of last week, the long-awaited Regulation (#EU) 2023/1804) on the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU (#AFIR) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. ➡️ AFIR will enter into force on 13 April 2024. Some key takeaways that the Regulation introduces as part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package below 👇: ✔️ 📌 The AFIR sets binding national targets for the development of adequate EU alternative #fuel infrastructure. The new regulation also establishes common technical specifications and requirements regarding the information to vehicle users, for the provision of data and payment requirements. The AFIR includes detailed regulations regarding light-duty and heavy-duty electric vehicles as well as planes and ships. ✔️ 🔋 Member States are obliged to ensure that, at the end of each year, starting from 2024, specific power output targets are provided through publicly accessible recharging stations. The power output varies subject to the type of the vehicles (light-duty electric vehicles or heavy-duty electric vehicles) and their distance along the TEN-T core or comprehensive road network. ✔️🔎 The prices charged to end-users by mobility providers must be reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory and no additional charges shall apply to cross-border e-browsing. ✔️ 🔌 #Mobility providers provide end-users with all valid price information, before the start of the electric charging session, through freely available, widely supported electronic means and clearly differentiating between the price components charged by the electric charging point operator, the applicable e-roaming costs and any other charges or fees applied by the mobility provider. ✔️ 🏷️ To ensure #price transparency prices charged by charging point, operators must clearly display the ad hoc price and all its components at the service station, including at least a prominent indication of the price per session, price per minute and price per kWh. ✔️ 💳 #Payment card readers, devices with a contactless functionality that is at least able to read payment cards and QR codes, shall be ensured and installed by charging point operators. A retrofit obligation shall apply above a specific power output level from 2027. 💡 For more information on the provisions of AFIR, including any possible exemptions from the general obligations, please contact Gullai Péter, Managing Associate in our Budapest office. 👉 Our team will be happy to provide further details on the new law. 📃 https://lnkd.in/dxd8dwgV #intheknow #mobilitysector #energysector #EUregulations #EUfitfor55
🇭🇺 🏢 Kinstellar’s team in #Hungary has successfully advised a #Hungarian company with a global presence in connection with the preparation and negotiation of a #lease agreement for its new #office headquarters. ➡️ The deal is one of the largest transactions of its kind on the Hungarian real estate market. 🗂️ The #Budapest team advised on various legal aspects throughout the transaction, the subject of which is the lease of more than 8,000 sqm in a Class A office building in Budapest. ✨ The team was led by Partner Annamaria Csenterics (Co-Head of the Hungarian #Corporate/M&A service) and Of Counsel Monika Frank (Co-Head of the Hungarian #RealEstate service) and supported by Junior Associate Judit Sós. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dURKS2C8 #donedeals #intheknow #realestate #leadinglawyers #leadinglawfirm
📢 🇭🇺 Meet us at the 53rd International Gas #conference, one of the largest #gas sector events in #CentralEurope 📅 on 26 & 27 September 2023, 📍 at the Hotel Azúr #Siófok. 🎤 Ferenczi Kristóf, Managing Partner of Kinstellar #Budapest and Head of our firm-wide #Energy & Natural Resources sector team, will moderate the ‘#Upstream’ panel on 📅 26 September. Hope to see you there! For more information and #registration, please click the link below: 👇🏻 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eSVdbtSc #exceptionaltogether #intheknow #thoughtleader #leadinglawyers #energysector #oilandgas #oilandgasindustry
📢 Meet us at the #CEE Property Forum 2023 in #Vienna, organised by Property Forum Events & News, on 20 – 21 September 2023. ➡️ This year’s edition promises to be the perfect place for real estate professionals who want to make their business even better, a perfect spot for #networking and #knowledge exchange. 🎤 Happy to have Victor Constantinescu, managing partner in #Romania and co-head of the firm-wide real estate practice, joining top-notch speakers in the panel 💡 "The big picture – #CEE #investment trends under the spotlight" on 📅 21 September, starting with 🕙 09:45. ⭐ Klara Stepankova, Partner in #Prague and co-head of the firm-wide real estate sector, Barnabás Sági, Managing Associate in #Budapest, and Dáša Labašová, Senior Associate in #Bratislava, will be part of our delegation. See you in #Vienna! #meettheteam #exceptionaltogether #realestateconference #realestate #CEEPropertyForum
🇭🇺 💼 Kinstellar is proud to announce that it has advised the #Swedish #appliances manufacturer #Electrolux Group on the successful #sale of its manufacturing facility in #Nyíregyháza, #Hungary, to the Swedish high-quality electric heat pumps manufacturer #Qvantum for a cash consideration of EUR 38 million. ✨ The Kinstellar team was led by Barnabás Sági, Co-Head of the #Budapest Real Estate service line, supported by Bertalan Ványa, Associate. The team also included Annamaria Csenterics (Partner), Anna Szilágyi (Junior Associate), Judit Sós (Associate), Péter Vörös (Partner), Gullai Péter (Managing Associate), Daniel Peter (Managing Associate), and Szabolcs Szilágyi (Junior Associate). 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d6Qqr5iC #donedeals #intheknow #transactionsHungary #divestment #leadinglawyers #leadinglawfirm
📢 🇨🇿 After a protracted process, the Chamber of Deputies has approved an amendment to the Czech #Labour Code. Although the Senate returned the #legislation with several amendments in back July, the Chamber of Deputies ultimately approved the amendment in its original wording. 💡 The amendment to the Labour Code will introduce significant changes, in particular to remote working, agreements on work performed outside #employment relationships, and to the electronic delivery of documents. 👇🏻 Click on the link below for more details on the changes to the Labour Code. In case of any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Employment Law team Martina Mazurkova, Tereza Holubová. #intheknow #exceptionaltogether #leadinglawyers