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Filippo Pingue of Simmons & Simmons assesses the prospects for Italian covered bonds

Recent legislation has led to an upsurge in the creation of certain types of real estate investment funds, says Andrea Marani of Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners

New legislation in Italy, some in response to the recent Parmalat scandal, aims to strengthen the country's capital markets and improve investor confidence. Corporate governance reforms that took effect at the beginning of this year fill a gap in legislation that until now ignored the issue of holding companies' liability. Changes to the country's tax regime that came into force at the same time make Italy more competitive with other centres in Europe. Expected changes to the law to allow the issuance of covered bonds could lead to the growth of a substantial market in these securities. Meanwhile, Article 129 of the Italian Single Banking Act continues to be a source of controversy, allowing the Bank of Italy to block the sale of unsuitable securities to Italian investors - a task it has apparently approached more vigorously in recent months. Articles in the following pages examine these and other legislative changes and how they will affect banks, investors and issuers.

Syndicated loans are only a recent phenomenon in Japan. Akira Marumo and Mitsue Tanaka assess the reasons for this belated development

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

Toshifumi Ueda explains how the UK's whole-business securitization structure can be adapted for the Japanese market

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

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.

James Hume, executive vice-president of the Dubai International Financial Centre looks at the history and potential of the Islamic financial sector

Islamic finance has greater potential growth than any other single area of finance. Although its precise size is hard to assess, most estimates say the assets of those who might invest in Islamic financial products amount to more than $250 billion.