Search results for

The Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, has issued one regulation and three circular letters to enhance the legal certainty of its administrative duties, particularly those related to Bank Indonesia's scripless securities settlement system (BI-SSSS). This is used in the administration of Bank Indonesia certificates (sertifikat Bank Indonesia or SBI), securities issued in rupiahs by Bank Indonesia as short-term acknowledgment of indebtedness, and sovereign debts (surat utang negara or SUN) consist of treasury bills and government bonds (securities issued by the government of Indonesia as long-term debt instruments in rupiahs or other foreign currency denominations). All of the issuances are dated February 16 2004. They are:

US law firms were among those celebrating the first international initial public offering (IPO) from a Mexican issuer in almost five years last month.

Consolidation in the US financial sector is proving to be a valuable source of work for law firms this year. The arrival of two new multi-billion dollar deals last month confirmed that banking mergers are a hot area for mandates. Several firms have benefited from the trend so far, but Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has been most successful, with a series of assignments advising target banks.

Questions remain over the rights of creditors in second lien debt transactions. Neil Cummings and Kirk Davenport explain

On June 1 2004, the Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment in the Commercial Field (known as the Commercial Measures), promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce on April 16 2004, will take effect. The Commercial Measures will replace the Measures Concerning Pilot Projects for Commercial Enterprises with Foreign Investment, effective since June 25 1999. Consistent with China's World Trade Organization commitments, the Commercial Measures have abolished the entrance criteria (such as minimum annual turnover for the past three years and minimum asset value for the past year) for foreign investors wishing to engage in commission agents, wholesale, retail and franchise businesses (that is, so-called distribution businesses). Also, foreign invested retailers no longer need to restrict the total annual amount of imported merchandise to more than 30% of the amount of its merchandise sales each year.

The Finnish Investment Funds Act has been amended with effect from April 8 2004 to implement the two recent amendments to the Ucits Directive (2001/107/EC and 2001/108/EC). The amended Act has widened the scope of operations allowed for fund management companies to include certain types of investment services, such as portfolio management and investment advice. The assets of the fund may now be more freely invested in different types of instruments, such as derivatives. Under the new Act, a simplified fund prospectus is required to be prepared for each managed investment fund as of October 1 2004.

The Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has recently proposed draft Sebi (Delisting of Securities) Regulations, 2004, to repeal the delisting guidelines dated February 17 2003. The main provisions of the proposed Regulations are:

Three Spanish banks have successfully securitized a new class of asset-backed notes, creating a legal and transactional framework for Spanish electricity companies to securitize revenues from customer bills.

Internet search engine provider Google could open the door to new types of initial public offering (IPO) if its flotation, which filed last month, is a success later this year.

The trust system in Korea will be overhauled to permit trusts consisting of several types of properties under one umbrella. The type of properties eligible for trusts will also be expanded to include various intellectual and industrial property rights.