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Many companies in Indonesia, whether foreign or locally owned, operate with negative equity, meaning that the total assets of the company are less than its total liabilities. The principal reason for this, other than the significant depreciation of the Rupiah against the dollar during the Asian financial crisis, has been the substantial retained losses incurred by companies, which would be offset in the past by the companies' share capital.

On October 6 2004 the Danish Government introduced a bill to amend the Danish Securities Trading Act. The purpose of these proposed changes is to a wide extent to implement the EU directives on market abuse and prospectuses and to adjust the Danish legislative framework in accordance with the Commission's Regulation on buyback programmes.

Under the International Accounting Standards (IAS) Regulation (2002/1606/EC), listed companies must prepare consolidated financial statements (or individual financial statements if they are not preparing consolidated financial statements) for financial years commencing on or after January 1 2005, in accordance with IAS/IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards).

Following the implementation of EU Directive 2002/65/EC concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services, suppliers of financial services in Austria are bound to observe the Act on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services (Fern-Finanzdienstleistungs-Gesetz [FernFinG]) from October 1 2004 when offering financial services by means of distance communication to consumers (that is, persons or entities not acting in their professional capacity).

A New York court gave comfort to issuers and securities firms last month when it ruled that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act does not allow plaintiffs to revive cases that have lapsed under previous time limitations.

The Kingdom of Jordan entered the bond markets for the first time in December, with a $145 million bond to pay for a new armed forces headquarters in Amman.

Bondholders continued to challenge the restructuring of UK holiday company MyTravel in December, despite a High Court ruling denying them the opportunity to block the company's scheme of arrangement. At the time of going to press, bondholders were awaiting the outcome of a second High Court hearing on the scheme.

As the implementation of Europe's Financial Services Action Plan moves to the fore this year, regulators in the EU can learn from the rulemaking approach of their US counterparts.

On December 4 2004 the Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority released the first four Implementing Regulations (Official Gazette (Umm Al-Qura) edition No 4021) to the Capital Markets Regulations. The publication of these Implementing Regulations, which are retroactive to February 24 2004, will significantly affect both issuers and investors in Saudi Arabia's capital markets. This first set of Implementing Regulations addresses three main categories: market ethics and conduct; securities offerings; and rules of registration and listing.

Global shipping companies might want to consider operating from Indian special purpose vehicles, now that the much-awaited tonnage tax regime in the Finance Act 2004 - 2005 has been introduced. This new regime will allow Indian shipping companies to opt for either tonnage or corporate tax.