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Ratings agency Moody's says the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)'s recent guidance for special purpose vehicles won't affect ratings for US banks.

Hungary has recently adopted several amendments to Act CXII of 1996 on credit institutions (the Banking Act) and Act CXX of 2001 on capital markets (CMA). The Acts provide an integrated legal framework for the activities of financial and investment service providers and their supervision. The changes were triggered by comments from market participants and practitioners and also by the EU accession requirements.

The French stock market regulator will decide next month whether or not to overturn its temporary ban on mandatory convertibles.

In the past, Hungarian offshore companies (HOCs) registered in, and performing activities outside, Hungary paid a beneficial 3% corporate profits tax. Companies that requested HOC status before December 31 2002 may benefit from the 3% tax rate and the related HOC regulations during a transitional or grandfathering period, which expires on December 31 2005. However, no company can request HOC status after January 1 2003.

Japanese legal procedures relating to insolvency are undergoing substantial reform. As a part of these reforms, many amendments to the Corporate Reorganization Law were promulgated on December 13 2002 and are scheduled to take effect on April 1 2003. The pre-amendment Corporate Reorganization Law provided a very rigid reorganization procedure, especially for large-scale companies with many creditors, employees and other stakeholders. The main purposes of the amendments are to create a swift reorganization procedure for companies and to establish more flexible reorganizing measures.

According to a new notice recently promulgated in China, even if the capital contribution of all foreign investors of an enterprise is lower than 25% of the enterprise's registered capital, the approval and registration procedures of that enterprise will be the same as those of a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE). However, such an enterprise cannot enjoy the preferential tax arrangement that FIEs enjoy. If the investor pays its contribution in cash, it must pay off its capital contribution within three months after the business licence is issued. If the investor makes its contribution in kind, it must pay off its capital contribution within six months.

Offshore structured finance transactions depend in large part on the integrity of the legal arrangements by which a finance company enters into its financial obligations. Where a company is used, the aim is to ensure that the separate legal personality of the company is maintained, and the company is not consolidated on the originator's balance sheet. Under Cayman Islands law, the corporate integrity of a finance company depends on the observance of corporate formalities and professional standards by the directors. It also requires the directors to have a thorough business understanding of the transaction in which the finance company is involved.

IFLR is pleased to announce the nominated deals and law firms for the Asian Legal Deals of the Year 2002, reflecting legal innovation in the region across all areas of corporate finance. Winners will be announced at our ceremony in Hong Kong on February 27

As the January 26 deadline for implementing the vast majority of rules required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act drew near, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) churned out a series of reforms.

Clifford Chance securitization partner Luigi Chessa is leaving the firm's Rome office after six months as joint-managing partner for Italy.