We are witnessing a global political trend towards increasing regulation of foreign investment. A number of countries are starting to strengthen their foreign investment regimes and/or intervene more regularly in deals to impose conditions on the purchaser or even prohibit the deal. The concept of “national security” that can be protected under these regimes has evolved from a traditional reference to defence-related activities and critical infrastructure to a far more expansive definition including critical technologies. At the same time, some countries in Asia have started to liberalise parts of their foreign investment regimes.

We have put together a panel of our foreign investment regulation experts, who will discuss:

• The general political themes driving this change;

• Details of the regimes (and proposed changes) from our experts based in South Korea, China, the US, UK, Belgium (the European Union), France, Germany and South Africa; and

• Practical tips on how to get your deal through these foreign investment controls successfully in these more uncertain times.