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China's newest investment treaties will strengthen the position of foreign investors. Robert Greig and Claudia Annacker explain

The new leveraged loan document is a welcome update, but it's still very much a lender-led enterprise, says Matthew Tobin. Perhaps it's time sponsors took the initiative

Barclays Bank completed the largest synthetic collateralized loan obligation to be fully placed on the bond market. The £5 billion ($8.74 billion) transaction, Gracechurch Corporate Loans Series 2005-1, is structured as a fully funded, synthetic securitization of a £5 billion portfolio of loans to medium-sized UK companies. The deal is designed to give the bank regulatory and economic capital relief in respect of its UK corporate loan book.

Dorsey & Whitney and Chadbourne & Parke were lead counsel on one of the largest ethanol projects to come to market. Financing on the $423 million ASAlliances Biofuels project closed in February, marking the first time that commercial banks have syndicated on an ethanol deal. Financing for the project was provided by a combination of bank loans, private equity and subordinated debt. The deal will involve greenfield construction of ethanol production facilities in Ohio, Nebraska and Indiana. Dorsey & Whitney advised the project company through partners David Swanson, Robert Hensley and Mike Pignato. Chadbourne & Parke acted for WestLB, the lead arranger and agent to the syndicate of 17 senior lenders. Washington DC partner Rohit Chaudhry led for the firm. Patton Boggs and Moore & Van Allen acted for American Capital Strategies and Laminar Direct Capital respectively, each of which were among the firms providing private equity and subordinated debt to the project.

Swiss company law does not address the transparency of management and board of directors' remuneration. For companies listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange, the SWX Directive on Information Relating to Corporate Governance (the SWX Directive) requires that management and board of directors' remuneration be disclosed. However, the SWX Directive only requires the total amount of compensation paid to the board of directors and the management board to be indicated. The Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance also addresses the disclosure of corporate governance issues. However, the Swiss Code does not provide binding corporate governance standards. It just aims to give recommendations for listed companies.

Russian federal legislation on joint-stock companies and the securities market was recently amended to introduce detailed tender offer rules.

Until 1993, when the telecommunications market was partially liberalized, the 100% state-owned Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Company (TPTC) was both provider of telecommunication services and regulator of the Tanzanian telecommunications sector.

Serbia's government has prepared a draft Investment Funds Law, which was officially submitted to parliament in September 2005. The draft law was prepared in cooperation with World Bank experts, and was modelled on to the EC Ucits directives.

The Off-Exchange Trading Regulations came into force on January 27 2006. With the market capitalization of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) topping $1 billion and a constant increase in turnover, off-exchange trading means more flexibility for authorized intermediaries and investors.

The law on company income tax in Latvia provides new exceptions regarding the taxation of a company's income from dividends.