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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.

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).

Two Spanish and three international law firms have benefited from roles on the initial public offering (IPO) of Spanish company Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte (Cintra), the largest in Spain since 2001.

Network Rail: borrowing to fund development Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have all won roles on UK rail operator Network Rail's planned £20 billion ($37 billion) multicurrency note programme.

An elite group of firms benefited from the gradual recovery of international equity markets last year, as revealed by IFLR's annual survey. The apparent improvement in fortunes of these firms, however, hides a trend with potentially worrying implications for legal advisers - the shift away from US-listed deals fully registered with the SEC. The burden of corporate governance legislation is deterring foreign issuers from seeking the US listings that used to be a badge of respectability in the international capital markets. "Sarbanes-Oxley has killed that market," says Nick Eastwell, head of capital markets at UK firm Linklaters.

Former UK Ernst & Young-affiliated firm Tite & Lewis has merged with English law firm Lawrence Graham. Its five partners and 15 other lawyers specialize in corporate, outsourcing and real estate law. The hires expand the Lawrence Graham partnership to 93. The firm aims to grow its corporate and real estate practices and build a profile in the outsourcing and IT area.

Only a few months into their new jobs as Asia-Pacific heads of legal, David Graham of UBS, Greg Terry of Morgan Stanley and Ken Willman of Goldman Sachs have a lot on their minds. Here, IFLR's Andrew Crooke talks to them about the challenges they face at a time when the attention of market regulators is more intense than ever

The new bankruptcy regime in Vietnam risks being as unsuccessful as the last in changing business practices, says Tim Reinold

Brazil hopes that a new law on public-private partnerships will help pay for improvements in areas such as energy production and transport. Andréa Arean Oncala explains

The tightening of controls in the financial sector has prompted money launderers to seek other methods for concealing the origin of proceeds of crime. In particular, there is a trend towards the increased use by money launderers of non-financial business.