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The Irish Finance Act 2004 contained a number of measures aimed at increasing the attractiveness of Ireland as a corporate headquarters and holding company (HoldCo) jurisdiction. These new measures provided for an exemption from corporation tax on gains arising on the disposal of qualifying shares, and a wider double tax relief for foreign taxes levied on dividends received by an Irish resident company. These measures were subject to clearance from the European Commission, which was received on September 23 2004, and the relevant Commencement Order to bring the measures into effect from February 2 2004, which has been issued.

On January 30 2004, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the HKEX) issued an exposure paper on the proposed Code on Corporate Governance Practices (the Code) and the requirement that Hong Kong listed companies file corporate governance reports.

The implementation of the EU Directive 2003/6/EC on insider dealing and market manipulation (the Market Abuse Directive), which aims to enhance investor confidence on the European financial markets and provide a common legislative framework for dealing with market abuse and disclosure issues, has been delayed in Finland.

On August 18 2004 the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) issued a new set of rules applicable to the organization and operation of mutual funds in Brazil, which will be effective as of November 22, 2004 (Rule 409).

An elite group of five firms with Linklaters at its head has profited most from the gradual recovery of international equity markets. Rob Mannix reports

Norwich Union in October raised £200 million secured against future business profits, showing an increasing willingness among UK insurers to use securitization as a funding tool.

British property company Land Securities is attempting to cut its debt-servicing costs with an innovative hybrid securitization platform that uses a sliding scale of covenants.

More collaboration is needed between national banking, securities and insurance watchdogs to improve the way financial conglomerates are regulated, said speakers at the annual International Bar Association conference in Auckland last month.

The Capital Markets Law (CML) came into effect on February 24 2004. The regulatory structure created under the CML includes a new Capital Markets Authority (CMA) empowered to regulate the issuance of and trading in securities and the establishment of a physical stock exchange, called the Saudi Capital Market. Saudi Arabia does not have a physical stock exchange. Rather, shares in Saudi Arabian public joint-stock companies are traded by local banks using the Tadawul electronic exchange under the regulatory authority of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

Almost 2,500 lawyers from around the world converged on Auckland last month at the International Bar Association's annual conference to discuss various issues facing the profession. One of the themes to emerge from the conference was the level of concern and attention that in-house and private practice lawyers are paying to governance standards and market reputations - both within corporates and at law firms. The profession is having to face up to potentially wide-ranging implications for its own behaviour and liabilities