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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.

This spring, the Canadian Competition Bureau released for public comment a revised version of its Merger Enforcement Guidelines (MEGs), the document that explains how the Bureau analyzes proposed mergers. The Bureau is in the process of reviewing comments provided by various stakeholders and plans to finalize the revised MEGs this summer.

The Hong Kong government recently completed Asia's first asset-backed deal to be sold to retail buyers. Stephen Roith, Mary Matson, Connie Heng and Gareth Old look at how the transaction was structured

Tube Lines' £2.1 billion ($3.7 billion) bond issue last month used a novel structure that lawyers say will open a new source of investment in project financing.

Christian Pilkington explains how Europe’s Credit Institutions Directive will simplify insolvency proceedings in the banking industry

On July 1 2004 the new Swedish Financial Advice Consumers Act will enter into force. The act has been established on the basis that there is a need for special consumer protection legislation regarding financial advice and will apply to financial advice that a business provides to a consumer and that involves the placement of a consumer's assets in financial instruments (for example shares, fund units and bonds) or in life assurance where the capital is placed in financial instruments selected by the consumer itself (so-called unit-linked policies). Compliance with the act is mandatory for undertakings providing financial advice to consumers.

Entering into an arbitration agreement, the parties sometimes provide for various alternatives. This happens quite often for example in loan contracts between Russian borrowers and UK based international financial institutions. In an attempt to bargain a favorable position in jurisdictional terms, the lender may want to reserve its right to go to a court of law. This is usually attained by supplementing the arbitration agreement with such opportunity, that is, by specifying that besides the option of having their dispute arbitrated the parties may initiate legal proceedings in, say, a UK court. Pursuing this bargaining path, the lender may also seek that a borrower unilaterally waive its right to challenge the jurisdiction chosen by the lender in case of a dispute. However, a lender should carefully exploit its bargaining power, since not all options will necessarily be viable.

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.

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

Rating agency Standard & Poor's is issuing new ratings on the chances of lenders recovering their capital in the event of a default on a European secured loan.