澳大利亚外资并购重大变更提示（中英双语）

澳大利亚外资并购重大变更提示（中英双语）

Joyce Wang

2020年12月9日，澳大利亚联邦议会对《外国投资和收购法》作出自1975年施行以来最意义重大的一次修改。新法于2021年1月1日开始实施。虽然此次改革增加了很多限制，但是都是围绕澳大利亚国家利益进行修订。投资者需要慎重地考虑交易的成功率，并且对交易后续可能被撤回的情况提前做相应准备。

文件重大变更汇总如下：

01

在澳投资经营将更为容易，应对新冠病毒而引入的临时0澳元审查限值已经被取消，而对国家安全业务投资的强制性审查门槛将继续维持为0澳元。

02

对于在敏感的“国家安全业务”进行直接投资，或开办此类业务，或在“国家安全领域”进行投资的“应通报的国家安全行动”，必须发出强制性通知。

03

财务部长可以在外国投资审查委员会（FIRB）批准后下达撤资命令并单方面施加新的条件或改变现有条件。

04

财务部长可以对任何投资以国家安全为由进行筛选，并且通常不需要通知。

05

追随规则现在适用于非法人有限合伙企业，但仍不适用于非法人普通合伙企业。

06

离岸交易的资产门槛（如外国目标公司拥有一家澳大利亚子公司）将提高至6000万美元（并按年度指数计算），此外，还要求资产不属于国家安全业务的一部分。

07

对于任何未向财政部长申报的投资（因而未接受按照目前的“国家利益”标准或新的“国家安全”标准审查的），如果财政部长认为该投资会引发国家安全隐患，则有权行使“召询”权，对其进行审查。在某些情况下，被动增加可构成对一个实体证券权益的收购，因此在满足其他条件时可触发通知，但有少数例外。

08

放贷豁免不适用于外国放贷人根据放贷协议收购或强制执行“国家安全土地”或“国家安全业务”的担保权益。

09

更新了“澳大利亚媒体业”定义，已涵盖提供类似于报纸、广播或电视广播内容电子服务（包括通过互联网）的运营。

10

将有两种额外类型的豁免证书：一种是应报告的国家安全行动，另一种是应审查的国家安全行动。

11

财务部长有权单方面将决策期延长至多90日。除此之外，还有权发布临时公开令，禁止申请人在90日内从事相关交易。

12

就“控制权变动”以确定重大行动而言，如果某人是在该实体中拥有重大权益的两个或多个人中的一个，则该人将不再被视为控制该实体。

13

对不遵守规定的行为将大大增加刑事和民事处罚，提供与外国投资审查申请有关的虚假或误导性信息可能导致民事处罚。

14

政府将有更大的能力在政府内部和外国政府之间共享根据联邦直辖地区获得的信息。

Summary of Foreign Acquisition and Takeovers Reforms

On 9 December 2020, the Australian Federal Parliament passed legislation about that the most significant reforms to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 in nearly 50 years. The new laws commenced on 1 January 2021.

A summary of the major changes are as follows:

doing business in Australia is now easier because the temporary $0 monetary screening thresholds that were introduced in response to the coronavirus have been removed, while the mandatory screening of investments in sensitive national security businesses will continue at the current $0 monetary threshold;

a mandatory notification is required in respect of ‘notifiable national security actions’ which are to take a direct investment in a sensitive ‘national security business’, or starting such a business, or an investment in ‘national security land’;

the Treasurer has been given a new ‘last resort power’ to make divestment orders and unilaterally impose a new condition or vary existing conditions after a FIRB approval has been granted;

the Treasurer has been given a new power to ‘call-in’ any investment for screening on national security grounds that would not ordinarily require notification;

tracing rules will now apply where a higher entity is an unincorporated limited partnership, but will still not apply to unincorporated general partnerships;

the asset threshold in respect of offshore transactions (such as where the foreign target has an Australian subsidiary) will be increased to $60m (and subject to annual indexation), and there will be an additional requirement that assets not be part of a national security business;

passive increases (such as increases in a foreign person’s percentage interest in an entity where that does not result from the person acquiring an interest in securities) in certain circumstances can constitute the acquisition of an interest in securities of an entity and therefore can trigger notifications if the other conditions are met, with a few exceptions;

the moneylending exemption will not apply to acquisitions or enforcements of security interests in ‘national security land’ or ‘national security businesses’ by foreign moneylenders under a moneylending agreement;

the definition of ‘Australian media business’ has been updated to capture the operation of electronic services (including via internet) which provide content similar to a newspaper or radio or television broadcast;

there will be two additional types of exemption certificates: one to cover notifiable national security actions and another to cover reviewable national security actions;

the Treasurer will have the power to unilaterally extend a decision period by up to 90 calendar days. This will be in addition to the existing power to make a public interim order which prohibits the applicant from undertaking the relevant transaction for up to 90 calendar days;

in respect of the ‘change in control’ test to determine significant actions, a person will no longer be taken to control an entity if the person is one of two or more persons holding an aggregate substantial interest in the entity;

there will be significantly increased criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance, and the giving of false or misleading information relating to a FIRB application can result in a civil penalty while there is no penalty under the current regime;

the Government will have greater ability to share information obtained under the FATA, both within government and also with foreign governments.