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Distributors of foreign QIFs must soon adapt to the revised Swiss rules. Here’s what they need to do

Financial institutions are at the centre of Europe’s incoming OTC reforms. But corporates must prepare too. Here’s how

Daniel Futej Rudolf Sivak This article provides a brief overview of important legislative changes in Slovak tax legislation which have recently come into effect. Based on the amendment to the Income Tax Act, as of January 1 2013, Slovakia no longer has a flat rate tax for companies (legal persons) and individuals. The tax rate for companies increased from 19% to 23%. As regards individuals (natural persons), two tax rates exist, and these will be applied in the following way:

Carlos Fradique Méndez Adriana Ospina-Jiménez Leading global financial institutions, asset managers and multi-product investment advisers are among the foreign entities that are increasingly showing their interest in promoting their cross-border, financial and securities-related services to Colombian investors. These foreign entities are especially targeting Colombian pension funds, the most important institutional investors in the Colombian financial sector, as they have approximately $65 billion AUM and growing at a 25% rate per year. The growing interest of these foreign entities is mainly due to (i) Colombia's sound economic growth (preliminary figures indicate that real GDP grew by approximately 4.8% during the first quarter, 4.9% during the second quarter and 2.1% during the third quarter of 2012); (ii) Colombia's high level of foreign direct investment; (iii) its reliable legal framework (as indicated in the World Banks's Doing Business 2013: "Colombia is a regional leader in narrowing the gap with the world's most efficient regulatory practice"); and, (iv) the upgrade to investment-grade status in 2011 by Moody's Investor Service and Fitch Ratings.

Stamatiou Costas On February 21 2013, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued a circular addressed to Cyprus investment firms (CIFs) to draw their attention to the obligations attached to their freedom to provide services in other EU member states (host member states). The provision of services under the freedom to provide services means that a CIF provides services freely in the host member state without having a physical presence there, for example through its website. Different arrangements apply if the CIF has employees or representatives physically present in the host member state acting on its behalf. These are contained in article 76 of the Investment Services Law, which regulates the establishment of a branch or the appointment of a tied agent attached to a branch established in the host member state. A CIF providing investment services in a host member state under the freedom to provide services must notify CySEC of its intention to do so in accordance with article 79 of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007, as amended (the Investment Services Law). Article 79 stipulates that a CIF may not start to provide services or perform activities in the host member state until it receives notification from CySEC that the competent authority of the host member state has been informed of its intention to provide services there.

Mian Muhammad Nazir Most of Islamic finance products and services, particularly financing transactions, necessitate procuring an insurance cover (Takaful). This is to mitigate certain inherent risks in underlying contracts or structures that cannot otherwise be excluded or mitigated in a Sharia compliant manner. The Takaful model for insurance is based on the principle of mutual cooperation and indemnification. Therefore, Takaful cover can easily be used to mitigate market and credit risks in many Sharia nominate financing contracts, without breaching the mandatory Sharia principles which prohibit exclusion or mitigation of certain risks in such contracts. In some commonly used structures for sukuk and investment products, the proceeds of Takaful cover are the only source of payment for the investors in the event of total loss of the underlying assets. Takaful has a critical role in the growth and success of the Islamic banking and finance industry. Therefore, it is very important that the Takaful industry is capable of satiating the increasing demand for Takaful products that are compatible with the profile of risks intended to be mitigated under various Sharia nominate contracts.

CVC’s offering of PT Matahari shares on IDX demonstrates the development of Indonesia’s capital markets. It also proves that private equity firms can exit in Indonesia

Afma’s principles for retail structured product approval present an example of international best practice across the Asia-Pacific. Here's why

On December 4 2012, Thailand's Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced a solicitation for a total of 5,400 MW gas-fired IPPs, broken down into maximum of 1,250 MW in six capacity addition periods ending 2021-2016.

Takashi Toichi and Takeshi Fukatsu of Anderson Mori & Tomotsune examine recent revisions to the corporate governance regime in Japan