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Hostile takeover activity is increasing in Japan. Seiichi Okazaki considers some of the defences available under local law

Ken Miura and Mikiko Toeda outline the few remaining restrictions on investment through funds of funds after extensive deregulation

Despite increasing demand for power in Italy, investors are reluctant to finance the country's power projects. Paolo Esposito of Allen & Overy looks at why they are so hesitant

Japan is going through significant changes in its legal system. The long period of economic stagnation following the collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990s has spurred Japanese lawmakers to modernize commercial laws to make it easier for Japanese companies to undertake necessary restructurings and engage in more sophisticated financing techniques. Many legal and regulatory reforms have already been implemented and a final round of corporate law amendments is expected to be completed in 2005. Articles in the following pages look at a number of areas where the movement toward legal reform and deregulation is already seeing positive results.

The Russian state is loosening its grip on land transactions. Anna McDonald of Salans outlines the real estate title rules

Malaysia has set a clear path for how it wishes to build and improve its financial industry and its capital markets. The country's 300-page Capital Markets Masterplan lays out improvements and recommendations some of which have been achieved already, others of which require further attention. In key areas such as Islamic finance, the government has entered the market as an issuer to aid progress. Meanwhile, in mergers and acquisitions, as in many other areas of financial and corporate activity, Malaysian authorities are lowering barriers to foreign investors. The articles on the following pages examine some of these issues in detail.

Regulators in Malaysia are sticking to their plans to lead innovation in Islamic capital markets. So far these seem to be working. Nik Ramlah Nik Mahmood of the Securities Commission spoke to Rob Mannix about progress

Charles Temkin of Shaw Pittman explains why complex and sometimes petty regulations can trip the unsuspecting, and can even lead to the loss of Reit status

Amendments to the Reits Act should spark activity in a market that has been slow to take off, say Yon Kyun Oh and Kwon Lee of Kim & Chang

France has introduced a tax regime that will allow the country's new non-listed real estate collective investment schemes to flourish. By Frédéric Nouel of Gide Loyrette Nouel