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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.

The Companies Amendment Bill now pending before parliament will reform the provisions relating to accounting/auditing standards. The highlights are:

In recognition of the prevalent sovereign immunity doctrine, Act IV of the Hungarian Civil Code (1959) specifically allowed the Hungarian state to enter into private law contractual obligations (for example, loans, state guarantee and construction mandates). However, for several years the scope and procedure governing the state's liability for the performance of these contracts have not been clarified further by publicly-accessible regulations.

New York firm Winston & Strawn is expanding its financial services regulation focus with the hire of Bank One's general counsel.

Effie Vasilopoulos joined the Hong Kong office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood at the start of August to launch a new international funds practice for the firm in Asia.

One of the few remaining items on the agenda of harmonization of the Czech legal system with the acquis communitaire is a package of legislation regulating capital markets and collective investment. The core of this package consists of the Act on Undertaking on Capital Markets and the Act on Collective Investment, which are both prepared in draft form and are expected to be submitted formally to parliament soon, with a view to being adopted on or before May 1 2004 (the anticipated date of EU accession).

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) voted in August to remove some of the restrictions on companies wanting to delist, offering the prospect of greater movement between exchanges.

Whether Hong Kong can compete for a share of Asia's rapidly growing market for real estate investment trusts will depend on how the new Reit regulations are applied, say Dean Lockhart and Graham Turl of Linklaters

Instead of creating a clear roadmap for M&A in China, new rules have made doing deals more complicated and confusing for foreign investors. Doubts now over how the regulations will be enforced is creating even more uncertainty, reports Andrew Crooke

Zest Investments II has shown the way forward for managed collateralized debt obligations in Japan. Paul Cluley and Benjamin Pynt of Allen & Overy, Tokyo, reveal how the deal balances the added complexity of having a managed portfolio with simplified cashflows and a greater transparency of risk