2021 Incheon Law & Business Forum: "Navigating the Storm: Helping MSMEs Set Sail with Legal Harmonization"

UNCITRAL RCAP held the 2nd Incheon Law & Business Forum themed “Navigating the Storm: Helping MSMEs Set Sail with Legal Harmonization” on 6-7 September 2021. The Forum was co-hosted with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea and Incheon Metropolitan City, and supported by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board INTERNATIONAL (KCAB INTERNATIONAL).

This two-day regional Forum brought together representatives from the law, business, and public sectors to discuss hurdles to integrating micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) into the mainstream economy, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Special attention was given to how UNCITRAL works to reduce the legal obstacles MSMEs face throughout their life cycle.

The event comprised five panels on (1) “MSME Formation: Business Registration”; (2) “MSME Formation: Limited Liability Enterprises”; (3) “MSMEs in the Digital Age”; (4) “MSE Insolvency: A Simplified Regime”; and (5) “Resolving Disputes involving MSMEs”; along with a roundtable discussion on facilitating MSME access to credit. 

The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Korea, UNCITRAL Secretary Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, and the Mayor of Incheon City delivered opening remarks at the Forum.

The event was conducted in English and took place virtually from 16:00 – 19:00 Korea Standard Time (UTC+9) via Zoom on 6 – 7 September 2021. It was open to the public and free of charge. Fore details, please see the e-flyer.

Programme

Speaker Bios

DAY 1: Monday, 6 September 2021

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Mr. Park, Beom Kye, Minister of Justice, Republic of Korea 

Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary, UNCITRAL

Mr. Park, Nam Choon, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea

Panel 1: MSME Formation: Business Registration 

Moderator: Ms. Monica Canafoglia, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL

• Prof. Gen Goto, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, University of Tokyo, Japan, “MSME Registration: A Japanese Approach”
• Mr. Cesar Cordova, Senior Director, Jacobs, Cordova & Associates, “Reform and Streamlining Procedures to Start a Business in Lao PDR: Results and Challenges for MSME”
• Ms. Rosanne Bell, Executive Director, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, “Business Registration in the Asia-Pacific”

Panel 2: MSME Formation: Limited Liability Enterprises (LLE)

Moderator: Ms. Monica Canafoglia, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL

• Mr. Yang Bingxun, Department of Treaty and Law, MOFCOM, China, “Some Legal Issues on MSMEs in China”
• Dr. Anne Matthew, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology Law School, Australia, “Limited Liability Enterprise: Supporting Nascent MSMEs in the Pacific Region”
• Prof. Sinisa Petrovic, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia, “Anachrony of Company Law and Is the LLE an Appropriate Solution?”
• Ms. Sharla Draemel, Attorney-Adviser, Office of Private International Law, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, “Helping MSMEs through Law: U.S. LLC and UNCITRAL LLE”

Roundtable Discussion: MSME Financing: Access to Credit 

Moderator: Ms. Athita Komindr, Head, UNCITRAL RCAP  

• Ms. Deanna Morris, Economic Affairs Officer, Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, UNESCAP, “MSME Access to Credit: Exploring Solutions which Fill the Financing Gap”  
• Mr. Sandeep Varma, Chief Executive officer, Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, India, “Facilitating Collateral Free Lending to Micro and Small Enterprises by providing Credit Guarantee”
• Ms. Yang Yi, Chief Investment Officer of Equity Management, RealAI, China, “MSME financing: Some Experiences from China”
• Mr. Won H. Cho, Partner, D’LIGHT Law Group, Republic of Korea, “MSME Financing in Korea – Innovative Ways for Financing”
• Ms. Georgina Naigulevu, local self-made e-commerce entrepreneur, Fiji, “MSMEs under the Covid: Challenges and Opportunities”
• Ms. Ratha Chea, CEO Khmun, Cambodia, “Women Entrepreneurs’ Access to Finance during COVID-19 via Digital Platforms”

DAY 2: Tuesday, 7 September 2021

Panel 3: MSMEs in the Digital Age 

Moderator: Mr. Alexander Kunzelmann, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL 

• Mr. Charly Gordon, Deputy Director of the Innovation for All Hub, Policy Department, International Chamber of Commerce, “International Trade in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities for MSMEs”
• Dr. Sutapa Amornvivat, CEO, SCB Abacus, Thailand, “Digital Lending: Fairer Access to Finance for MSMEs”
• Mr. Sam Saili, CEO of Skyeye, Samoa, “Digital Economy for the Unbanked”
• Ms. Ratana Phurik Callebaut, Private Sector Development Specialist, MSME Development for Women in Tech, Cambodia, “Women MSMEs and Digitalization in Cambodia : Challenges and Opportunities”
• Prof. Erik Vermeulen, Tilburg Law School, Department of Private, Business and Labour Law, the Netherlands, “The End of the Corporation in a Digital Age”

Panel 4: MSE Insolvency: A Simplified Regime 

Moderator: Ms. Yanying Li, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL

• Mr. Harold Foo, Assistant Director, Policy Advisory Division, Ministry of Law of the Republic of Singapore, WG V Chair, “International Perspectives on the Insolvency of Micro and Small Enterprises”
• Ms. Pooja Sinha, Asia Networks Director, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, “A Practitioner’s Perspective - SE Asia”
• Prof. Min Han, School of Law, Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea, “Simplified Rehabilitation Proceedings for MSEs in the Republic of Korea”

Panel 5: Resolving Disputes Involving MSMEs

Moderator: Mr. Jae Sung Lee, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL

• Ms. Maggie Pei, Senior Vice President, Iconiq motors, China, “Managing Disputes in a Value-added Way through ADRs”
• Ms. Sue Hyun Lim, Secretary General, KCAB INTERNATIONAL, “Dispute Resolution for the Small and Medium Companies: A Korean Perspective”
• Ms. Sarah Grimmer, Secretary-General, HKIAC, “Effective Dispute Resolution for MSMEs: Insights from HKIAC”
• Mr. Takashi Takashima, Senior Attorney, Ministry of Justice, Japan, “Fast-track Arbitration for Agile Businesses: Key features of the UNCITRAL Expedited Arbitration Rules”

Closing Remarks

Ms. Athita Komindr, Head, UNCITRAL RCAP