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A different tack by the SEC

Investing in Malaysia is a lot easier than it used to be, and it deserves praise

Use your minority stake to buy together

Misguided attempts to keep out hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and foreigners

Two US cases and their lessons for how to structure a Mac clause

Franchising Tunisia does not have legislation or a legal framework to deal with franchising. This does not mean that franchising is prohibited. Franchising agreements entail that the rights are exclusive; such exclusivity was indeed prohibited under the umbrella of number 91.64 relating to competition and prices, dated July 29 1991. But since the introduction of a law dated July 18 2005, which amends the competition law, all the prohibitions affecting previously exclusive concession agreements have been withdrawn; this includes prohibitions that affect franchising agreements. From now on, the authorisation of the Ministry of Commerce and the compulsory opinion of the Competition Committee are not required. The granting of a master franchise covering Tunisian territory is therefore in accord with applicable Tunisian regulations. It does not require any administrative authorisation.

The Draft Amendment Bills and Regulations has five sets of legislative drafts. They are (i) the Draft Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2007, (ii) the Draft Financial Advisers (Amendment) Bill 2007, (iii) the Draft Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, (iv) the Draft Financial Advisers (Amendment no 2) Regulations 2007, and (v) the Draft Securities and Futures Regulations 2007 (Amendment), covering financial and margin requirements for holders of capital market services licences.

On January 1 2008, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will impose an essential part of the direct taxation system on the whole territory. Drafts of the new Corporate Income Tax (CIT) law and Personal Income Tax (PIT) law are already going through parliamentary procedures. It is expected that the government will implement them by the end of this year. If that happens, their application will begin on January 1 2008. The aim of these laws is to harmonise the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (FBiH) corporate and personal income taxation laws with the legislation of two other BiH entities, Republika Srpska (RS) and Brcko Distrikt (BD). The legislation should help to create a unified economic space and to eliminate differences between taxes in FBiH, RS and BD. This briefing analyses the new CIT law, looking in particular at the CIT rate. It also explores the tax exemption rights available to foreign investors under the CIT law, before new CIT law's official application.

Ukraine Recommended firms Tier 1 Baker & McKenzie Tier 2 Chadbourne & Parke Magister & Partners Sayenko Kharenko Shevchenko Didkovskiy & Partners Tier 3 BC Toms & Co Beiten Burkhardt DLA Piper Gide Loyrette Nouel Grischenko & Partners Salans The Silecky Firm The Ukrainian legal market is going through an interesting period. There has been a steady increase in banking and finance transactions, and international interest is also growing. Ukrainian banks are being targeted by international and European banks – TAS-Kommerzbank, for example, went to Swedbank while Pekao, a Polish banking group, bought out HVB Bank Ukraine.

South Africa Recommended firms Tier 1 Deneys Reitz Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Webber Wentzel Bowens Tier 2 Bowman Gilfillan Cliffe Dekker Werksmans Tier 3 Brink Cohen Le Roux Jowell Glyn & Marais The equity capital markets have been quiet in South Africa. While there have been more than 50 listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Alternative Exchange since it opened in October 2003, the main exchange remains muted. The vibrancy of the debt markets, however, more than compensate for this inactivity. There has been a considerable increase in trading volume last year and a greater emphasis on derivatives. There have been a number of local bond issuances, and the Eurobond market is also busy, with South African banks keen to get in on the action. Traditionally the market has been very risk-averse, but there is a growing interest in high-yield bonds.