Search results for

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: goals, content and status of implementation

Changes to Ireland's tax legislation in the 2003 Finance Bill overcome previous differences applying to special purpose vehicles, and will expand the scope for securitization deals in the country says Cormac Kissane of Arthur Cox

When a Chinese state-owned telecoms operator chose to acquire a near-insolvent foreign company, it had to find the most protected and controlled environment within which to do so. In the first of a two-part analysis, Edward Turner, Sandor Schick and Etienne Gelencsér of Shearman & Sterling look at the buyer’s options

French regulators have unexpectedly intervened in local convergence with international accounting standards. Richard Parolai of Clifford Chance and Xavier Paper of RSM Salustro Reydel explain why the rulemakers' stance on substance over form will complicate securitization deals in France

Following a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, the German Finance Ministry is looking again at aspects of the country’s Corporation Taxes Act governing thin capitalization. But lending banks may be disappointed by the review say Martin Krause and Karin Hauenschild of Linklaters Oppenhoff & Rädler

The much awaited Land Transport Management Bill was introduced to the New Zealand parliament on December32002. It reflects the government's new strategy for transport infrastructure development in New Zealand which was released officially on the same day. The Bill provides for private sector involvement in road schemes and for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in land transport infrastructure, which has historically been funded principally by the government. It is intended to provide flexibility and coordination so that a wider range of land transport solutions can be achieved than has been possible until now.

India is proposing to introduce value-added tax (VAT) in the Union Budget for 2003-2004 (dated February 28 2003). This is a significant reform in the country's tax regime.

In the Budget Speech 2003, Hong Kong's financial secretary stressed the importance of attracting more financial product issuers. To further these initiatives and to foster the development of retail bonds, the SFC and the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau jointly published a consultation paper on March 10 2003, suggesting amendments to the Companies Ordinance.

In February 2003, a panel of experts was informed about various recommendations to improve Swiss financial market supervision. As an initial measure, the panel has recommended appointing the Swiss Federal Banking Commission and the Federal Office of Private Insurance as the new financial market supervisory authority. For this purpose the two federal bodies should be merged organizationally within this new authority. By summer 2003, the panel plans to submit a draft of a federal law on financial market supervision which will come into force by the end of 2003 at the earliest.

The potential bankruptcy of a Russian company has long troubled those investing in the country, as loopholes in the previous bankruptcy laws have led to the use of bankruptcy as a takeover device and other abuses. On December 3 2002, a new Law On Bankruptcy (Insolvency) took effect. In general, the new law is debtor-friendly and was drafted to stop abuses. However, it does not address all the existing problems and its effectiveness remains untested. Some of the noteworthy provisions of the new law are outlined below.