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It is possible to show that an individual acted with criminal intent, but how can the criminal intent of a company be proven? By Rui Patrício of Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados

Jorge de Brito Pereira and Sónia Teixeira da Mota of PLMJ assess the impact of the EU Prospectus Directive on Portugal's capital markets

James Simpson, Oleg Bilousenko and Valeria Piovesana assess the steps towards privatization in central and eastern Europe's power sector

For about 10 years now, Indonesian corporations have been issuing bonds and other debt instruments by using the internationally known special purpose vehicle (SPV) structure to make the process more effective and cost efficient. The parent company of the SPV would issue a guarantee for the instrument and would make payments to the SPV in consideration for the funds derived from issuing the instrument. In other words, the SPV lends the money to its parent company in exchange for the guarantee and repayments from the parent, which will ultimately be used to pay principal and interest/coupon to the holders. The use of an SPV was necessary to achieve at least two goals:

The Securities and Exchange Law has recently been revised. The revised law increases the disclosure requirements for certain corporate information, increases the scope of the tender offer rules, and permits certain English disclosure documents to be filed.

The new Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Law on Competition entered into force in BiH on July 26 2005. The Law is modelled on EC law and covers restrictive agreements, the abuse of a dominant position, and concentrations in the territory of BiH. Of the provisions in the Law on Competition, the requirement to notify concentrations to the respective competition authority will have the most immediate and onerous effect for concentrations in the region.

An open market for gas in France remains some distance away because of obstacles for new entrants and the power wielded by the incumbent suppliers. But progress remains possible. By Thierry Chaumeil

The insurance market in Serbia is still underdeveloped. Mandatory third-party liability automobile insurance accounts for more than one-third of the total insurance portfolio, while the portion of life-insurance is still far below the average of the countries in the region (1.2% in 2002, 3.5% in 2003). The total insurance portfolio in Serbia accounts for less than 2% of the country's total GDP (which in 2004 was $23.9 million).

Real estate transactions form an essential part of foreign investments in Albania. Just as in other European countries, in Albania the legal process of acquisition of real estate ownership constitutes two steps: the conclusion of a purchase contract and the registration of the purchase contract with the real estate register.

By Michael Evans