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Last April 30, several measures on the energy sector were adopted under Royal Decree 6/2009. One of the main objectives is to achieve tariff sufficiency, to solve some of the financial difficulties of electricity companies. Current and future tariff deficits have to be financed, and the mechanism chosen has been the securitisation of the collection rights in favour of a Spanish asset securitisation fund.

The Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (the FISCM) of Korea, which became effective on April 1 2009, emphasises following four regulatory areas: (i) the concept of financial investment products defined on the basis of a negative system (where related actions are allowed unless expressly prohibited), (ii) regulation of financial investment businesses according to function, (iii) expansion of the scope of financial investment businesses, and (iv) modernisation of the investor protection system.

The Payment Services Directive has been transposed in Romania, through Government Emergency Ordinance 113/2009 on payment services. The Ordinance entered into force on November 1 2009, together with Regulation 21/2009 on payment institutions, issued by the National Bank of Romania (NBR), which aims at governing the establishment of the payment institutions (PI), their activities and prudential supervision.

Beginning this summer, Portuguese limited liability companies are able to merge on a cross-border basis in which all assets and liabilities of the merged entity (including employees) are automatically transferred to the surviving entity and the merged entity ceases to exist without a liquidation process. This became possible with the enactment of Law 19/2009, which implemented the cross-border merger directive (Directive 2005/56/EC).

In the absence of a general anti-tax avoidance rule, numerous cross-border transactions in Indonesia are structured to minimise Indonesian tax. There are various specific anti-tax avoidance rules such as CFC and thin capitalisation, but the tax authorities are apparently worried that treaty abusive practices still occur. Back in 2005, the Indonesian tax authority commenced its efforts to combat those practices by issuing circular letters on beneficial ownership and a unilateral increase of withholding tax on interests paid to Dutch tax residents from 0% to 10%. As part of the reform process, the 2008 income tax law also explicitly defines a beneficial owner. A large number of those measures are considered less than successful, as there were many international tax disputes that were verified in court and decided in favour of the taxpayer.

Effective September 1 2009, the Czech Republic's Act on Protection of Economic Competition has been amended. The amendment introduces the possibility of a simplified merger clearance procedure.

The sheer volume of active BVI Business Companies (over 400,000) is testament to the fact that no other offshore jurisdiction offers a comparable corporate vehicle. The combined number of active Cayman and Bermudan companies, for example, is approximately 100,000. Companies that have been incorporated in other offshore jurisdictions may continue or migrate to the BVI. It's worth highlighting some popular reasons for doing so, correcting some common misconceptions and summarising the statutory process.

The Argentine Central Bank has recently issued a Communiqué embracing a new regulatory regime applicable to representatives of foreign financial institutions that are not authorised to operate in Argentina.

Rating agencies are downgrading hybrids due to the removal of systemic and regional support from their process. And although banks are recovering, upgrades are unlikely

EU regulation designed to streamline European investor protection documentation could encroach on the wholesale market and limit access to certain investor groups