Issue #8 January 2015

Featured Topics: Membership Dues Payment 2015 • IPBA Web Site Changes • IPBA Vice-President Attends Opening of the Malaysian Legal Year • IFLR Asia M&A Forum • Thomson Reuters IPO Handbook

IPBA Membership Dues Payments for 2015

Thank you to those of you who have already paid your dues for 2015! We are still accepting dues payments, so please don't hesitate to renew your membership now. Renew your membership online via the new and improved IPBA web site, or contact the IPBA Secretariat.

Your membership must be paid for 2015 in order to take advantage of the reduced registration fees for the IPBA 25th Annual General Meeting and Conference in Hong Kong! The Early Bird registration rate is valid until February 6th so register today if you have not already!

Bookmark the new URL for the IPBA web site:
https://ipba.org/home/

The New IPBA Web Site is Now "Live"

The new and improved IPBA web site is up and running!

You can now access the member Only section, including the form to do your membership renewal, by using your e-mail address instead of your IPBA membership number; your password is the same as you use now, but if you have forgotten it you can change it to anything you'd like with the "Forgot Password?" feature. The site has been made to be easily viewed and accessible on all platforms: PC, tablet, and smart phone.

We realize that there are still some little tweaks to be made and we are working to fix them, but may not have caught all of them so please help us make the site better for you by sending your comments and suggestions to the IPBA Secretariat or Webmaster.

IPBA Representation at the Opening of the Malaysian Legal Year 2015

Each year, IPBA Officers are invited to attend events of other organizations as official representatives of the Association. Dhinesh Bhaskaran, IPBA Vice President, represented the IPBA at the Malaysian Legal Year 2015 events in January this year.

During the course of the 3 events he attended, he interacted actively on behalf of the IPBA with, among others, the Chief Justice, office bearers and Judges of the Malaysian judiciary, leaders of the local bar associations, the President and Vice-President of the Australian Bar Association, the President of the Law Society of New South Wales, the President of the Taiwan Bar Association, the President of the Yangon Bar Association, the Immediate Past President of UIA, the President of Lawasia, the President of the Brunei Bar Association, the representative of the German Bar Association and the Vice-President of the Law Society of Singapore.

The IPBA was also officially recognised during the speeches of both the President of the Malaysian Bar and the Chief Justice of Malaysia. We thank Dhinesh for attending this event and helping to promote the IPBA, particularly since the IPBA 26th Annual General Meeting and Conference takes place in Kuala Lumpur in 2016.

Dhinesh Bhaskaran
IPBA Vice President

IFLR/IPBA Asia M&A Forum

IPBA is supporting IFLR Asia M&A Forum 2015. This 10th annual event will take place on the March 10 and 11 at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong. IPBA members can enjoy special discount.

The forum will provide M&A stakeholders with key know-how on developments and trends in transactions, regulatory and market practices. Last year’s event achieved a record success with 400+ legal professionals from global banks, multinational enterprises and international law firms in attendance.
 
For more information, please visit www.iflr.com/AsiaMA2015 or contact Emerald Mou via emerald.mou@euromoneyasia.com or call at: 852- 2842 6980.

Thomson Reuters has produced the "IPO Handbook for Hong Kong 2015", an important guide for IPO professionals dealing with the Hong Kong market. IPBA is noted as a supporter or this project, and Thomson Reuters is offering the PDF version to IPBA members for FREE. Log on to the Library: IPO Handbook page of the IPBA web site Member Only section to download the file in English or Chinese.

The handbooks are being sold in bookstores in Hong Kong for HK$700 for the English version and HK$450 for the Chinese version, but the IPBA has been given a few hard copies of the English version for its members to take for FREE.

Please let the IPBA Secretariat know if you are interested in a hard copy of the English version!

Other news:

• The Mid-Year Council Meeting and Regional Conference is being planned for Dubai, UAE, this coming October 23-26. The Regional Conference on the 26th is open to everyone, so save the date!
• The Host Committee of the Hong Kong Conference will be visiting several cities in the coming months. Many of these visits include an educational seminar coupled with the upcoming conference highlights. Check with your local IPBA leaders (Jurisdictional Council Member,At-Large Council Member, or Regional Coordinator) for information on a related event in your area.
• In addition to the IFLR/IPBA Asia M&A Forum mentioned above, the IPBA is a supporting organization for the following events, at which IPBA members can register at discounted rates:
  - CIArb (East Asia Branch) Centennial Celebration, March 19-21, 2015.
  - Global Conference Review's "GCR Live 4th Annual Law Leaders Asia Pacific" conference in Singapore, March 5-6, 2015.

Check the IPBA web site's Events Calendar for more details and more event listings!