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US senators query Wall Street research settlement

Sir:

Investors gave Uruguay a firm vote of support for its planned debt restructuring last month when 90% of creditors signed up for its groundbreaking bond swap.

The Ontario Securities Commission recently issued proposals to amend Rule 61-501, which governs insider bids, issuer bids, going private transactions and related party transactions. The Rule protects security holders by providing greater disclosure regarding, independent valuation of, and effective veto over, certain transactions with perceived inherent conflicts of interest. The amendments seek to clarify confusing provisions and eliminate regulatory burden where compliance costs may outweigh the benefits.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced the creation of the GCC Customs Union at the conclusion of the 23rd Annual Summit held in Doha in late December 2002. The Customs Union commenced on January 1 2003.

Although global insurance firms are pushing into the Korean market - the world's seventh largest in terms of insurance premiums - the threat posed by foreign rivals is a minor issue next to the challenges created by the proposed Insurance Business Law (IBL). The Bill focuses on overhauling the existing regulations in the insurance sector to meet global standards in terms of asset management, market competition, supervisory systems and consumer protection.

As part of the Japanese government's securities market reform, amendments to the Cabinet Order and the Cabinet Office Ordinances relating to the Securities and Exchange Law took effect on April 1 2003. There are two key points to the amendments. First, the amendments require disclosures to the Japanese public securities market to be more informative and credible. Secondly, the amendments modify the requirements for private placements in order to encourage the development of Japanese private securities markets.

The Measures for the Administration of Foreign-Invested Distribution Enterprises for Books, Newspapers and Periodicals was promulgated by the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (now Ministry of Commerce) on March 17 2003. The Measures will take effect on May 1 2003 while those regulations regarding foreign-invested wholesale enterprises contained therein will come into effect on December 1 2004.

The Capital Markets Board (CMB) has been actively updating its legislation as stated in its annual work plan for 2003 by issuing new communiqués or by amending existing legislation.

UFJ Bank is continuing the trend for Japan's largest banks to use synthetic securitization to improve capital ratios and manage credit risk.