Navigating Indonesia’s language law risks More than a year after a Jakarta court ruled a loan agreement void because it was not translated into Bahasa Indonesia, lawyers are still uncertain about local language translation requirements
Canada’s plan to standardise takeover bids Boards may get more power to thwart takeover bids if a proposal by the country’s securities administrator is adopted next year. Notice of the proposal was released on September 11, with the full version expected in early 2015
Limited success for HKEx diversity rules Diversity requirements introduced by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange one year ago have had little effect, a new study has revealed
Isda CEO calls for faster harmonisation The new chief of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has said that regulators need to focus on harmonising international rules
Carve outs erode Australian Mac protections The effectiveness of material adverse change clauses are being whittled away in Australian public M&A, a recent report has revealed
Isda rejects MiFID II liquidity MiFID II's definition of liquidity will not work for the swaps industry, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Here's why
Arab Bank ruling raises compliance risk A New York ruling that found Arab Bank liable for providing financial services to terrorists has raised questions about banks’ compliance programmes
Laos hydro project solves infrastructure sharing problems Laos hydropower project Nam Ngiep 1 was the first to solve legal issues around sharing infrastructure such as substations and transmission lines
HK sukuk first explained Hong Kong’s inaugural sukuk was the first to test its new tax laws allowing Islamic finance structures. Here's how it was done
Venezuelan debt restructure 'inevitable' Despite continued guarantees that it will make payments on its sovereign bonds in October, experts say a Venezuela default or restructuring process is inevitable.
Finra tackles transparency with a wide net The industry body has announced that it is considering several proposals to improve transparency in the equities and fixed income market
Netherlands confirm favourable tax treatment of AT1s From a tax perspective, the treatment of AT1s is inconsistent across the EU. The Netherlands are among the first member state countries to clarify their position
Spain’s favourable AT1 tax treatment under threat Earlier this year a Spanish law confirmed the country’s favourable tax treatment of AT1s. But a new bill now going through parliament threatens to change this
Bidders’ dilemma under UK Takeover Code changes Proposed changes to the rules governing UK public takeovers set out a strict new regime that requires bidders to think carefully about the promises they make during a takeover battle
Straw calls for capital markets union rethink Jack Straw has called for a rethink of the EU’s capital markets union to change City eurosceptics’ antipathy towards the project
Reputational diligence changes PE documentation A recent survey has revealed that an increasing number of private equity firms are using reputational due diligence to achieve better valuations
Thai zero-coupon first explained Bangkok Dusit Medical Service’s convertible bond has marked a number of firsts in the Thai market
US leverage guidelines' impact in Europe The Fed and OCC guidelines have sparked a debate about the extent to which they will impact European banks
Poll: Europe's capital markets union IFLR's Quick Poll this month asks what should be the EC's priority in establishing a capital markets union
ADB wastewater B-loan unleashes commercial banks Asian Development Bank and 13 commercial banks have signed a B-loan to a wastewater treatment company in China
Hong Kong's dual-class dilemma Following the release of its dual-class concept paper, Shearman & Sterling's Jayesh Wadhwani asks whether the exchange must allow these structures to remain competitive
Mexico's reversal of fortune An ambitious set of reforms could transform Mexico’s investment environment. Former ambassador to the EU and Nafta negotiator Jaime Zabludovsky explains what is needed to capitalise on the changes
Cost cutting in post-trade compliance It’s well-known that the costs of compliance are increasing. But the post-trade area poses several risky – and potentially expensive – areas that market participants cannot ignore
Walmart’s new bank taps captive market Walmart is set to move into the US banking space through a partnership with Green Dot bank. The strategy could appeal to other retailers
Putnam County deal shows way forward for mutual banks The mutual bank has purchased a Nasdaq-listed competitor in an effort to protect its core business and meet growing regulatory demand
Project Safi unlocks shariah finance for PPPs The first cross-border Islamic financing of an independent power project has created a new source of liquidity for PPPs across the Middle East and North Africa
Myanmar non-recourse financing first explained Myanmar’s first non-recourse financing involving international banks has been signed. It may open infrastructure financing in the frontier market
Sierra Leone to lure IPP investors Sierra Leone’s energy minister has promised concessions to foreign investors as part of his plan to overhaul the country’s struggling power sector
Korea Basel III change to boost deals Clarifications of the write-down requirements for Korean banks’ Basel III-compliant bonds are expected to encourage deals and appeal to investors
The nationalisation of SNS – lessons learned In February 2013 Dutch SNS Reaal Group was nationalised. An earlier adoption of planning and preparation measures might have helped to identify SNS' structural issues more quickly
Portability: clause without a cause? Market participants have queried whether portability provisions in high-yield actually provide the issuer any benefits
European high yield’s future battlegrounds The past 12 months has seen ferocious covenant negotiation. And it’s laid the groundwork for more issuer-investor tussles in 2015
Bocom’s Chinese reg cap first explained The tier 2 bond is expected to open the market to other Chinese lenders, having finally reconciled regulatory requirements and investor expectations
Reality bites for new high-yield issuers The record number of European companies tapping the market for the first time are hitting hurdles in preparing prospectuses and finding secondary market liquidity
New ICMA clauses debut in Kazakhstan sovereign Kazakhstan’s sovereign bond has become the first to wholly adopt new model collective action and pari passu clauses
Allen & Overy triumphs at IFLR Middle East Awards Allen & Overy was named international firm of the year at this year's ninth annual IFLR Middle East Awards. See the full list of winners here
FDI transcends Turkey's troubles Ilker Ayci, president of Turkey's Investment Support and Promotion Agency and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, discusses the reforms that continue to improve the country's FDI opportunities
Antitrust compliance must be prioritised Major corporations are regularly failing to do more than pay lip service to their antitrust compliance programmes, according to panellists at an antitrust session during this week’s International Bar Association annual conference in Tokyo
Do activists raise shareholder value? There is mounting evidence that shareholder activism is gaining traction across the world. But there is little consensus on whether it is good policy to encourage the behaviour
Asia’s struggle with CSR Corporate social responsibility is a relatively new concept for most Asian jurisdictions. And because it tends to be governed by domestic regulations and corporate law, approaches across jurisdictions can differ drastically
Myanmar: worth the risk As international investors flock to the newly-opened country, companies must not lose sight of the risks of doing business in the frontier market.
AIFMD confusion for non-EU funds Non-EU funds cannot rely on reverse solicitation to build their presence in Europe, explained panellists at this week's IBA annual conference in Tokyo
Europe’s 4-to-3 merger precedent The creation of Europe’s second biggest telecommunications company sets a new benchmark for antitrust clearance in the region, and paves the way for more consolidation in this year’s already busy telecom sector
HK competition guidelines need clarity Hong Kong’s Competition Commission released its long-awaited draft guidelines this month. But more details are needed before they can be implemented
The thorny issues of conflict management All lawyers confront conflicts in their daily practice, but definitional problems complicate the matter further
IBA Annual Conference: the full coverage IFLR has been at the IBA's Annual Conference in Tokyo this week, producing its daily newspaper. Here's the full coverage
A new course for cross-border swaps reform A failed challenge to the CFTC’s extraterritorial reach has caused disappointment. But Linklaters' Caird Forbes-Cockell, Noah Melnick and Edward Ivey explain why the regulator’s new chief could be the silver lining
Indonesia's PKPU: 10 years on The insolvency law celebrated its tenth birthday this year. Andi Kadir of Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners analyses how the process has changed since it was passed?
Indonesian contracts' translation turmoil Recent judicial decisions have revived concerns around the enforceability of English contracts in Indonesia. Ashurst's Joel Hogarth explains how to protect yourself
India's solution to wilful defaulters Widespread defaults by Indian borrowers have prompted banks to find new ways to recover debt. Verus's Krishnayan Sen explains how they are invoking the RBI Master Circular
Japan FIT changes needed to continue growth Japan introduced its highly successful feed-in tariff in 2012. But to continue growth in renewables, it must make changes
Stress test: 7% hurdle puts spotlight on German banks Fourteen additional banks would have failed the stress test’s adverse scenario had the EBA used the minimum CET1 requirements banks must meet once capital buffers are fully applied
The rising tide of creditor democracy Cleary Gottlieb's Andrew Shutter and Sui-Jim Ho explain how lawyers and lawmakers are finding new ways to make debt instruments subject to majority rule
Stress tests: why national CET1 calculations could vary The EBA’s emphasis on consistent national data and results for its upcoming stress test were examined on Sunday, with the ECB and EBA revealing how banks fared
The 2014 European stress tests: impact report Initial reactions to the European stress tests will focus on capital shortfalls. But the real value of the tests is much broader
Why disintermediation is Europe's funding future BBVA's Agustin Martin Calmarza and Aaron Baker explain why ABS is key to Europe’s move towards a more market-focussed system of funding
Korea Re tier 1 first explained Korea Reinsurance’s bond has become the country’s first offshore tier 1 subordinated capital security in the insurance sector
Regulators: Asian rulemakers need a global agenda Regulators in Asia must cooperate more often to ensure their concerns on extraterritorial regulation are heard globally
Isda’s resolution stay protocol assessed Major banks have signed an Isda stay protocol to assist the orderly resolution of a troubled financial institution. Jay Taylor of Taylor Louis asks how far this goes in addressing too-big-to-fail
Stock Connect to boost SFC – CSRC cooperation Regulators have agreed that the Hong Kong – Shanghai Stock Connect will create unprecedented cooperation between the two markets' rulemakers
Uncertainty surrounds CFTC footnote 513 The CFTC’s no-action relief for a wide-reaching extraterritorial provision ends this year. It may not be renewed
Isda’s resolution protocol sparks enforceability questions Market participants agree that the association's Resolution Stay Protocol is a positive development, but many are concerned about enforceability
Poll: making Europe's capital markets union work A capital markets union is regulators’ latest attempt to diversify corporates’ funding sources. But what should the concept actually entail?
Deal of the month: China's reg cap first Bocom’s tier 2 bond has reconciled regulatory requirements and investor expectations, and opens the market to other issuers
Inside China: outbound investment made easy Regulatory burdens on Chinese outbound acquirers have been eased. It paves the way for a more balanced cross-border investment dynamic
Afme high yield conference highlights The European high-yield market continues to spread. But new issuers mean new problems
Why invest in Latin America's unbanked The region’s governments are easing regulations to improve consumer and SMEs’ access to credit. For foreign investors, the changes create access to an untapped market
Hurdles to AIFM passporting Until AIFMD is fully transposed, can AIFMs be confident that they can use the marketing and management passports as seamlessly as they are intended?
