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New legislation to authorize the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) to supervise the licensing and organization of cooperative insurance companies in Saudi Arabia will come into effect on November 20 2003. At present, insurance is an area of the Saudi Arabian economy in which foreign investment is forbidden. It is widely believed, however, that with the passage of the Insurance Law, it will soon become permissible for foreigners to invest in the industry in Saudi Arabia.

Italian legislation authorizes local authorities to use derivative transactions only to hedge against interest rate, exchange and currency risks connected to their financing transactions.

Lone Star's purchase of a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) for $1.2 billion is the largest-ever private equity deal in Asia, excluding Japan.

John Woodhall, head of international securitization at Clifford Chance, is leaving to build a practice for a rival firm.

International banks can no longer be certain of the effectiveness of taking a security interest in Korean assets by way of a pledge from Korean companies. Joshua Margolis and Chul Hyun Kim of Hwang Mok Park consider what can be done to avoid a chilling effect on derivatives and secured lending transactions

France recently overhauled its financial regulatory system, but stopped short of following the US's tough tactics towards insider trading. Eric Cafritz and James Gillespie of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson compare the different approaches

Exit consents have been hailed as an important tool in the battle to avoid Argentina-style sovereign debt defaults. But Stephen Choi and Mitu Gulati explain that lawyers must take a close look at the bond terms if they want to ensure their restructuring plans will work in practice

On June 17 2003 Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers passed a resolution approving the long awaited Capital Markets Law (CML), which - once it has been signed by King Fahd or the Crown Prince - will be effective 180 days from its announcement in the Official Gazette (Umm Al Qura). Saudi Arabia does not have a physical stock exchange, although shares in Saudi public companies are traded electronically through local banks under regulation by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the Kingdom's Central Bank. The electronic exchange (Tadawul) and the Saudi Shareholding Registry will be transferred to the new Saudi Arabian Exchange Commission (SEC). The new market will be renamed the Securities and Exchange Market, which will be established as a joint stock company.

Crest Securities' recent investment in SK Corp - perhaps spelling control of SK Telecom - has underscored the vulnerability of public companies to outside bids for control.

With the rapid development of information technology, use of personal information about individuals is increasing. In order to help to protect the rights and welfare of individuals, the Law Concerning Protection of Personal Information was promulgated on May 30 2003. The new law harmonizes protection of personal information (as defined in the law) and the use of personal information. The law sets out not only basic policies for the protection of personal information but also basic obligations for any enterprise that uses a personal information database for business. Similar obligations for the public sector are also prescribed by separate laws.