The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and Linklaters organized a seminar: ‘The New Belgian Code of Companies and Associations: Practical Consequences for Chinese businesses’, on 4 December at Linklaters LLP in Brussels.

An extensive legislative reform of the Belgian company law is underway, aiming to modernise the rules and make Belgium a more flexible and attractive place of incorporation for both national and foreign companies. The Belgian government prepared a New Code of Companies and Associations, which has been approved in first reading by the Parliament on 23 October 2018. The reform will have an impact on all legal entities in Belgium.

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and the law firm Linklaters LLP, jointly organized a seminar during which the main aspects of the reform and the practical consequences for Chinese businesses were discussed, including:
• Simplification of corporate legal forms and structures
• New, streamlined private limited liability company (SRL/BV), without registered capital
• Modernised corporate governance
• Increased mobility of companies
• Tax consequences of the reform

Speakers at the seminar:
• Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce
• Arnaud Coibion, Partner, Corporate/M&A – Head of the China desk in Belgium
• Jeremy Filbiche, Associate, Corporate/M&A – Member of the China desk in Belgium
• Matthieu Possoz, Associate, Tax

Given the roundtable format of this event, spaces were limited.