Search results for

A deal between European finance ministers on Europe's Transparency Directive means foreign issuers could face bills of up to $10 million as they struggle to comply with international accounting standards (IAS). All issuers of listed securities in the EU will have to publish reports using IAS when the accounting rules come into force in 2006. Earlier on in the month ministers voted out a requirement in the Directive for quarterly reporting from corporates operating in Europe.

China must ensure turf wars between government ministries don't lead to different treatment of foreign and domestic companies, says Zhao Yong of Squire Sanders & Dempsey

At present, the joint stock company (kabushiki kaisha) and the limited liability company (yugen kaisha) are the two corporate forms most common in Japan. Though the joint stock company form was intended for large and public companies and the limited liability company form was for smaller closely held companies, many closely held companies use the more prestigious joint stock company form even though it is more strictly regulated.

Competition in Russia's financial market is regulated by the Federal Law No 117-FZ, which came into effect on December 29 2001. It governs both Russian or foreign (operating in Russia) banking, insurance and leasing companies, non-state pension funds, professional participants of the securities market and other entities rendering financial services.

The Swiss legislature recently completed work on a new statute governing mergers, demergers, conversions of companies, and the transfer of assets with or without related liabilities. Most of these topics were not addressed in the Swiss Code of Obligations and thus many of the existing rules relating to mergers and demergers are based on case law or on legal principles developed over time by practitioners. Most of the code law provisions that did exist will now be replaced in their entirety.

Italian entities acting as borrowers or issuers of financial instruments in international financial transactions with foreign EU counterparties often accept to submit any controversy that may arise to the jurisdiction of a foreign court located in an EU member state.

For more than 50 years successive Irish governments have used targeted fiscal measures to attract and retain international investment in Ireland. It is clear from Budget 2004, which was approved by the Irish parliament on December 3 2003, that this strategy continues to be the cornerstone of Irish government policy in relation to foreign direct investment.

Over recent years the Indonesian Tax Office has sought to increase state revenue from the collection of taxes. The government has set up a specialized Tax Court under Law No 14 Year 2003 to replace the existing Tax Dispute Settlement Body. The Court operates under the auspices of the Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice and Human Right (MoJ) and, to a certain extent, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for examining an appeal over tax authority stipulation. Any decision rendered by the judge is considered as binding on both parties and the remedy would possibly be through a civil review. A tax bearer may use qualified and authorized tax attorneys to provide advice or representation. Further, decree of MoF No 450 Year 2003 has ruled that only Indonesian citizens licensed by the chairman of the Tax Court and empowered with specific power of attorney may act as tax attorneys. The Court also supervises the conduct of tax attorneys during hearings. Previously, tax disputes were settled by the Tax Dispute Settlement Body, which was created by Law No 17 Year 1997.

Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) have been de-recognized as a separate class of investor entity in India and will now be treated the same as any other foreign incorporated company. This decision follows a review by India's Reserve Bank of the investment activities of OCBs, based on the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security Market Scams.

On December 2 2003, a working group nominated by HEX Integrated Markets, the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland and the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers published a new Finnish Corporate Governance Recommendation. The Recommendation is a result of the working group's review of the previous corporate governance recommendation for Finnish listed companies issued in 1997.