State-Owned Investors Face Greater Scrutiny In Canada

On December 7, Canada's Industry Minister announced that the Government would apply special guidelines (the Guidelines) to the review of Canadian investments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under the Investment Canada Act (the ICA), Canada's foreign investment review legislation. In brief, the Guidelines:

• Focus on the governance and commercial orientation of SOEs;

• Outline factors that the Government will use to assess adherence to Canadian standards of corporate governance;

• Identify considerations for determining whether the SOE will operate the Canadian business according to commercial principles;