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Private equity eludes the shackles of regulation In a surprising admission, private equity houses criticised the UK Financial Services Authority last month for not being dramatic enough in their investigations into the industry.

In June 2006, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) published a basic action plan and guidelines to improve its listing system.

Germany tries to stop its corporates registering as English limited companies

The ambiguity of China's new labour law is a challenge for employers, say Fiona Loughrey and Matthew Durham of Simmons & Simmons

A&O funds Indian professorship The National Law School of India University, Bangalore In a move hoped to build its presence in India, Allen & Overy announced today the sponsorship of a local law professor. Like many of its UK competitors, A&O is keen to get a foothold in the region but is unable to set up a physical office because of local bar rules that prevent it. The firm is investing in the development of the Indian legal market by providing an endowment for the appointment of a professor of International Financial Law at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The professor will be known as the Allen & Overy professor of international financial law. Most big UK firms have an Indian group, normally with an Indian national at its helm (Sandeep Katwala at Linklaters, Nipun Gupta at White & Case, Nimi Patel at Herbert Smith). Linklaters also operates a referral firm, Thawar Thakore & Associates, that seconds lawyers to Linklaters. The Allen & Overy announcement was made during a visit to the National Law School by Department of Constitutional Affairs minister Cathy Ashton, who is in India on a ministerial visit. Alex Pease, chairman of Allen & Overy's India Group, commented: "We appreciate the complex challenges that lie ahead for India's legal infrastructure in terms of meeting the demands of a rapidly growing economy. This endowment is a first step towards establishing a collaborative approach within India to address some of these challenges. Students will now have the option of learning about international financial law." As part of the 10-year endowment A&O will also provide occasional guest speakers to visit the University, including professor Philip Wood, Allen & Overy special global counsel. Professor Wood is the visiting professor at the University of Oxford, Queen Mary College and the London School of Economics & Political Science and Yorke Distinguished Fellow at Cambridge University. The Allen & Overy professor of international financial law will also conduct research into issues of Indian law of interest to the international financial community to help build greater understanding of the unique features of the Indian market.

M&A activity in Tanzania took off in the mid-1990s, with privatization programmes sponsored by the World Bank and the Tanzanian government. But M&A activity in Tanzania is now moving towards private sector transactions. Corporate trade buyers and private equity partners are the new players. The new M&A market also involves a greater number of small to medium-sized businesses undergoing restructurings or strategic reorganizations.

The Czech Republic has a new legal framework for joint projects of the public and private sector (PPP) as of July 2006. Concession contracts under the Czech Concession Act do not comprise all possible forms of PPP but rather concessions within the meaning of the European Directives. In practice, many PPPs fall within the definition of a public contract governed by the Public Procurement Act. This differentiation is important from the perspective of the tendering of contracts.

After a history of false starts, in late April the federal government announced its new climate change plan, Turning the Corner, which will establish Canada's first national emissions trading system. The government's Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions document describes the proposed air emissions regulations, which are broad and cover greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants.

Rule 144A is our biggest cost

Are banks following the herd? European central banker Alexandre Lamfalussy last month challenged banks and their advisers to tackle a system he labelled a "fertile breeding ground for excessive risk taking."