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

Customised index platforms give issuers a way to stand out from the crowd

Islamic bonds won't be a global force until they can break the US market

Securitisation is hampered by local laws, and by a lack of Islamic assets

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which amends the competition law, all the prohibitions affecting previously exclusive concession agreements have been withdrawn; this includes prohibitions that affect franchising agreements.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.

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.

Allen & Gledhill and WongPartnership continue to dominate the Singaporean market, grabbing the lion's share of important deals and exploring avenues of growth to sustain their positions at the top. Allen & Gledhill has recruited talented capital markets veteran Lim Teong Sit from Malaysian firm Shearn Delamore & Co, while WongPartnership has begun to seize valuable assignments in the Middle East after establishing an office in Qatar this year. Smaller players such as TSMP Law Corporation have broadened the depth of their practices too. The recent joint venture, for example, between TSMP and accomplished Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson could be promising for the Singaporean firm. The venture not only offers the potential for increased appointments, the added ability to offer both local and foreign legal advice may enable TSMP to climb the ranks in the next few years.

Recent years have seen a big increase in the commoditization of structured finance in Spain. After several years of consistent growth, the banks are finally treating Spain as just another western jurisdiction, with the same expectations of quick turnaround, high volume and low fees from their external counsel. More deals are also being executed by the banks in-house, given their now extensive knowledge of how these deals work in the Spanish market. This, obviously, means even less work for external counsel, but several firms have made the smart move of volunteering templates and other standard documentation to the banks' internal teams. This may not be hourly charging, but by getting the banks to pay for this service it does compensate for some of the lost revenue otherwise felt by commoditization.

The Polish capital markets are at their healthiest ever. And the top-tier firms couldn't be happier. "The market is spectacular for us; this is what we were waiting for," said one partner.