Sponsored briefing: Sustainable finance instruments: green bonds

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Sponsored briefing: Sustainable finance instruments: green bonds

Over the last decade, considering global warming and climate change issues, one of the most significant financial innovations in the sustainable finance area has been the development of green bonds. The demand for green bonds, to a large extent, is attributable to the growing prominence of climate issues. As public and private institutions around the world are necessarily more attentive in terms of adoption of sustainable and socially responsible policies, the investors and shareholders are now more aware of the risks of climate change. Likewise, corporates are considering alternatives to create economic value while also contributing to safeguard of the future. Therefore, although sustainable financing methods were already on the rise prior to the pandemic, they are now even more significant instruments for raising funds for green and sustainable recovery projects.

European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank pioneered the first green bonds, with EIB issuing its Climate Awareness Bond in 2007, as a structured bond with proceeds dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and the World Bank issuing its first green bond in 2008 to raise funds from fixed-income investors to support lending for eligible climate-focused projects. Since then, the market for green bonds has grown considerably. According to a report by Climate Bonds Initiative, annual green bond issuance topped half a trillion in 2021 for the first time, which represented a 75% increase on prior year volumes. Recently, green bonds have been issued by issuers in more than 50 countries and the United States of America has the largest source of green bonds. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Sustainable finance instruments: green bonds”

GC Powerlist Türkiye 2022

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GC Powerlist Türkiye 2022

Due to the favourable geopolitical location of Türkiye, it is a renowned hotspot for local and foreign investors. Its regulatory and political landscape has also seen recent, rapid evolution and change. Frequent developments are underway to laws regarding real estate, data privacy, citizenship, among others. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic presented a distinctive set of challenges for the country and for companies in Türkiye. General counsel (GCs), throughout this period, guided their respective companies with consistent and practical support.

The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Türkiye 2022 demonstrates an astounding level of legal ability against an arduous, transforming economic background. Driven by resilience, GCs in Türkiye have assumed a leading role in their companies and navigated unparalleled challenges. It does not come as a surprise that the in-house legal profession is burgeoning in Türkiye, attributable to the taxing undertakings they typically face in their organisations. Continue reading “GC Powerlist Türkiye 2022”

Sponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management

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Sponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management

What do you consider are the biggest achievements of ASC Law since being founded 21 years ago? (MA, ZC, OB)

Murat Aksu (MA): I think I can speak for all of us in that we are all thrilled, 20 years on, by what we have built. All three of us had been working for large organisations before we started ASC Law, and we all dreamed of starting our own business. And here we are. From just a handful of lawyers in 2001, ASC Law now has more than 70 lawyers, with total staff of some 170. It is now one of the top five largest law firms in Turkey. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management”

Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Aksu Çalıskan Beygo Attorney Partnership

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Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Aksu Çalıskan Beygo Attorney Partnership

Esentepe Mah. Harman Sok. No. 5, Harmancı Giz Plaza Kat 16, Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey 34394
T: +90 212 284 98 82 | E: info@aschukuk.com | www.aschukuk.com

Practice areas: arbitration, banking and finance, capital markets, commercial (including project development and finance), corporate, debt restructuring, labour/employment, litigation, M&A, probate, real estate Continue reading “Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Aksu Çalıskan Beygo Attorney Partnership”

Sponsored briefing: Turkey: A paradise for startups and angel investors

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Sponsored briefing: Turkey: A paradise for startups and angel investors

New and bold ideas often come from young people. We see the effect the new generations have on innovative technologies, especially due to the increase in digitalisation and the adaptation of the older generation to digital life being slower than the younger generation. Startups are on the minds of most of the young business people who think that their creative ideas cannot grow within the huge bureaucratic and cumbersome holdings and joint stock companies.

The startup, in words of famous entrepreneur Neil Blumenthal, is a term used for companies working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed. Since a not-so-distant past, we have often heard this term and have seen entrepreneurs’ success and failure stories. The number of entrepreneurs who do not want to be a part of corporate culture, who have new and extraordinary ideas and who adopt a flexible working culture is rapidly increasing. When it comes to startups, success, investment, growth and earnings are on one side of the coin; whereas the other side holds the problems of the crawling period, financial difficulties and the difficulty of finding investment. Perhaps even those of you who are reading this article have or have had a successful or unfortunate startup adventure. Not everyone who touches, nurtures and feeds on the startup ecosystem is immune to the difficulties experienced in that painful birth and crawling process of a startup. Perhaps one of the most challenging of these difficulties is the problem of financing. While some entrepreneurs in Turkey benefit from sources such as KOSGEB or TÜBİTAK funds or micro-loans, some of them are knocking on venture capital companies’ and angel investors’ doors to solve the financing problem that can determine the fate of a startup. Apart from these, another source of financing frequently used is the savings that the entrepreneur has made up to that day or the financial support they received from family, relatives and friends. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Turkey: A paradise for startups and angel investors”

Sponsored briefing: Understanding SAFEs and complexities in the ‘Simple’

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Sponsored briefing: Understanding SAFEs and complexities in the ‘Simple’

I. Understanding SAFEs

SAFE is an acronym for ‘Simple Agreement for Future Equity’ that is concluded between investors and the target startups; where the investors give the funds to startups in advance, in exchange for a promise from the company to give shares to the investor at a future date when the startup raises money on a priced round. It is possible for the startups to sign SAFEs with numerous investors at the same time with different terms, as by nature, SAFEs let startups reward investors who are willing to move first by taking more risk, with lower valuations. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Understanding SAFEs and complexities in the ‘Simple’”

Sponsored briefing: The metaverse law – are we ready for the challenge?

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Sponsored briefing: The metaverse law – are we ready for the challenge?

We are witnessing unexampled times… In the light of the pandemic, there have been economic ramifications in Turkey and all around the world. Yet, this was also an opportunity for finding tools in order to ensure business continuity, since no one had any idea on when the pandemic will cease. Thankfully, we are in an era where we can get the most out of technological developments. In that regard, virtual interactions have become an essential part of life for businesses. Needless to say, the legal sector is no different than any other sector. The trend has even accelerated during the pandemic, with both clients and law firms inclining towards video-conferencing and other appropriate forms of virtual interactions, eg, e-hearings and e-meetings.

Not long ago, interest in virtual interactions has focused on the ‘metaverse’, which seems to be the latest fashionable concept in tech viewed as a form of cyberspace. What makes the metaverse different? Well, basically, it allows us to immerse a version of ourselves as avatars in its environment via augmented reality or virtual reality. However, at this point, lawyers are inclined to ask who or what will govern the metaverse? Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The metaverse law – are we ready for the challenge?”

Sponsored briefing: Use requirement of trade marks and potential consequences of non-use under Turkish law

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Sponsored briefing: Use requirement of trade marks and potential consequences of non-use under Turkish law

Under the Industrial Property Law numbered 6769 (IP Law), an important obligation imposed on trade mark owners after obtaining registration is the requirement to use the trade mark. The IP Law attaches two important potential consequences for non-use of the trade marks, after the completion of the five-year grace period. First, the trade mark can be revoked due to non-use upon the request of the interested parties and second, its enforceability can be weakened by a non-use defence asserted by the applicants in the opposition actions before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) or by the defendants in invalidation or infringement actions before the courts.

The non-use defence has been introduced as a revenue granted to applicants and defendants for the first time with the IP Law, with its entry into force in 2017. This expanded the potential consequences that could be faced by trade mark owners with vulnerable trade marks, by adding to the already existing risk of facing a non-use revocation claim under the late Decree Law numbered 556 on the Protection of Trademarks (Trademark Decree Law). Changes in practice will also take place as of 10 January 2024, with the transfer of the authority of the courts to evaluate non-use revocation claims to the Office. Thus, trade mark owners with trade marks registered for more than five years in Turkey should be cautious of the various avenues available to third parties against their trade marks, when deciding on enforcing their rights. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Use requirement of trade marks and potential consequences of non-use under Turkish law”

Sponsored briefing: Formation of contracts by electronic means in Turkey

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Sponsored briefing: Formation of contracts by electronic means in Turkey

The rapid development of industrialisation and globalisation has resulted in the rise of the computer age. With the recent advancement in the areas of computer technology, telecommunications and information technology, living and business styles of people have been significantly changed.

Electronic commerce is one of the products of this change that has a major economic significance in today’s world. Electronic commerce provides the flexibility in terms of place and time. As a result, business relationships are not restricted with the limits of geography and time anymore. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Formation of contracts by electronic means in Turkey”

Sponsored briefing: An overview of recent court decisions in Turkey: Are Turkish courts becoming more pro-arbitration?

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Sponsored briefing: An overview of recent court decisions in Turkey: Are Turkish courts becoming more pro-arbitration?

In this article, we take a look at some of the Turkish Court of Appeals decisions concerning international arbitration from 2019 onwards, with a view to identifying whether Turkey is shifting towards a more pro-arbitration approach.

Turkey is hardly known as a particularly pro-arbitration jurisdiction. Although there are a number of pitfalls in the legislation, this is not quite the reason – the International Arbitration Act numbered 4686 is, after all, based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. Turkey has been a party to the New York Convention since 1991, and as the lex specialis, the Convention prevails over the International Private and Civil Procedure Law numbered 5718 (IPPL). The IPPL, which applies to enforcement of awards falling outside the scope of the Convention, was amended to accommodate the needs of a more arbitration-friendly environment. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: An overview of recent court decisions in Turkey: Are Turkish courts becoming more pro-arbitration?”