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The statistics for the German equity market in 2006 make happy reading for law firms handling equity brokerage in Europe's largest economy. While the overall value of initial public offering (IPO) deals nearly doubled from $3.3 billion in the first nine months of 2005 to $6 billion in the first nine months of 2006, the really impressive jump was in the sheer volume of transactions. The $3.3 billion was generated by just 12 IPOs while the number of deals in 2006 soared to 51.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Hannes Snellman Roschier Holmberg White & Case Tier 2 Castrén & Snellman Merilampi Marttila Laitasalo Waselius & Wist Tier 3 Borenius & Kemppinen Equity in the Nordic region proved extremely popular in 2006, with the few large initial public offerings heavily oversubscribed. The lack of IPOs, together with the competitiveness of bond or bank issuance as a source of funding for Finnish companies, made secondary placements a more fertile source of deals for bankers and their lawyers. These included two placings for Sampo Housing Loan Bank.

Singapore, like a number of Asian economies, has been recovering steadily after the disasters of the previous decade. Governmental schemes directed at improving the performance of the debt market have dragged up corporate bond issuance. The debt market has been the subject of a great deal of attention from the government and the financial industry in Singapore, and it is here that steady growth in the volume and value of deals can be seen. The equity market has not enjoyed such a sustained development between 2005 and 2006.

Like many of its richest and most glamorous citizens, Russia's bigger companies continue to be attracted to foreign markets. Of the five largest IPOs by Russian issuers in the first nine months of 2006, three were dual listed in Moscow and London and another listed solely on Nasdaq. Similarly, English and US firms tend to dominate both local and international legal advice although one local firm, Liniya Prava, is making a name for itself for both debt and equity.

Recommended firms Tier 1 A&L Goodbody Arthur Cox McCann FitzGerald Tier 2 Matheson Ormsby Prentice William Fry Ireland may still be the Celtic Tiger but its capital markets have had a mixed ride in 2006. Economic growth is expected to be around 5% both this year and in 2007, but securities issuance has been up in some areas, down in others and static in still others.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Allen & Overy Baker & McKenzie Grszczynski I Wspolnicy Attorneys at Law Weil Gotshal & Manges Tier 2 Clifford Chance Janicka Namiotkiewicz i wspolnicy spolka komandytowa Dewey Ballantine Grzesiak Linklaters White & Case W Danilowicz W Jurcewicz I Wspolnicy There has been little cheer in the Polish capital markets this year. Although inflation has been brought under control, the country continues to face stiff economic challenges and its markets have reflected that with a dearth of new offerings.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Galicia y Robles SC Mijares Angoitia Cortés y Fuentes SC Ritch Mueller SC White & Case Tier 2 Creel García-Cuéllar y Müggenburg SC González Calvillo SC Holland & Knight – Gallastegui y Lozano Jáuregui Navarrete y Nader SC Kuri Breña Sánchez Ugarte Corcuera y Aznar Martínez Algaba Estrella de Haro y Galván-Duque Santamarina y Steta SC In 2006, the Mexican initial public offering (IPO) market has grown by over 21 times. January to September saw $1.232 billion of offerings compared to only $58 million in the same months of 2005, according to Dealogic. Such results go a long way to proving predictions that improved corporate governance would increase foreign investment.

Recommended firms* Tier 1 Gorrissen Federspiel Kierkegaard Kromann Reumert Tier 2 Bech-Bruun Plesner Svane Grønborg Tier 3 Accura DLA Nordic Jonas Bruun *This table reflects the banking and finance capability of law firms, including capital markets The waters of the Danish equity market are starting to stir again. October saw the IPO of insurance company TrygVesta. At €838 million, it was Denmark's biggest flotation in a decade, and investors in the country are clamouring for more. ISS, whose sale to private equity investors paved the way for the €13 billion leveraged buyout of TDC, is among targets being mooted for re-listing. Denmark's biggest energy company, Dong, is also gearing up for a listing in 2007, which promises to be the country's largest ever IPO.

Bond issuance enjoyed healthy growth this year in Australia and the Kangaroo bond market (debt securities issued in Australia by foreign investors) showed no sign of losing momentum – 2006 is expected to be another record year. One area of new business is expected to be AAA-rated supranational borrowers or agencies in Europe, which have yet to invest in any numbers in the Kangaroo bond market.

New templates have caused an explosion in synthetic CDOs