On September 14, 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA’ s) Cabinet of Ministers launched a new Permanent Ministerial Committee for Examining Foreign Investments (CEFI) that would review foreign investments for potential national security threats. This development comes at an important time as the Kingdom opens its doors for foreign…
Articles Posted in CFIUS
Commerce Department’s New ICTS Rule Raises Additional Considerations for Cross-Border Transactions
On January 19, 2021, the Commerce Department issued an interim final rule to implement the Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain (E.O. 13873), which was issued on May 15, 2019. The interim rule comes after the November 2019 proposed rule implementing E.O. 13873.…
New Filing Fees for CFIUS Notices Enter into Effect
Beginning on May 1, 2020, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will require a fee for any joint voluntary notice of a “covered transaction” or “covered real estate transaction.” This requirement also applies to (i) voluntary notices filed after CFIUS has completed its assessment of a…
Examining CFIUS Implications for the Real Estate Market in the Post COVID-19 World
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic turmoil have the potential to shake up the U.S. real estate market due to an anticipated influx of real estate investors looking to purchase heavily discounted, distressed assets and an expected increase in real estate foreclosures. Non-U.S. real estate lenders and investors need…
CFIUS Update: Chinese Company Ordered to Divest Acquisition of U.S. Hotel Software Company
On March 6, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) instructing the Chinese company Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co. Ltd. (Shiji) to divest its acquisition of StayNTouch Inc., a U.S.-based software company providing management systems to hotels. Pursuant to the EO, Shiji is required to fully divest its interest…
CFIUS Unveils Proposed Rule to Impose Filing Fees
On March 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a proposed rule establishing filing fees for parties submitting a voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for “covered transactions” under Part 800 (which includes covered investments) and “covered real estate” under Part…
New Proposed CFIUS Regulations Implementing FIRRMA
On September 17, 2019, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued two new proposed rules for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which was enacted in August 2018. The first proposed rule covers, among other things, FIRRMA’s expansion…
U.S. Commerce Department Releases Proposed Rulemaking for Export Controls on Emerging Technologies
On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on criteria for identifying emerging technologies that are essential to U.S. national security. The proposed rulemaking has two important impacts: Emerging technologies identified through this process will become subject…
CFIUS Announces Pilot Program Requiring Mandatory Declarations for Certain Non-Controlling Investments in Specified Critical Technology Companies
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued temporary regulations establishing a partial pilot program implementing two key changes to the jurisdiction and review of transactions by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The pilot program (1) expands the scope of transactions subject to review by CFIUS…
Congress Reaches Agreement on CFIUS Reform Legislation Broadening National Security Reviews and Addressing Emerging Technologies
House and Senate negotiators have agreed on proposed reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) foreign investment review process, which has been added as Title XVII of the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The final bill makes a number of changes intended to improve…