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With a view to bringing the regulatory regime of Hong Kong, which is fundamentally disclosure-based, more in line with its international counterparts and to assure the furtherance of investors' protection, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) unveiled the Consultation Paper on the Securities and Futures (Stock Market) Rules in May 2002.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill, a new Bill aimed at strengthening the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (New Zealand's Central Bank) powers of supervision and regulation of registered banks to bring them into line with international best practice was introduced on April 23 2002. The Reserve Bank first indicated that it was going to propose significant changes to its governing legislation in October 2000. This governing legislation is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989, which sets out the functions and powers of the Reserve Bank and provides for a system of regulation and supervision of banks. The new Bill was introduced following consultation on the proposed amendments with interested parties and will have significant implications for both domestic and foreign-owned banks that do business in New Zealand.

Stricter rules on insider dealing in Italy have been introduced as part of significant amendments to the Regulation of the markets organized and managed by Borsa Italiana SpA, the Italian Stock Exchange. The amendments to the Regulation came into force on July 15 2002.

As part of Turkey's efforts to build a stronger economy and also as part of fulfilling its undertakings to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), parliament passed Law No 4749 on Public Finance and Regulation of Debt Management on March 28 2002.

Ed Greene of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton calls for greater cooperation between Europe and the US to solve some of the problems afflicting world markets

Peugeot has closed a complex €1.5 billion ($1.49 billion) securitization of French and Spanish car loans using a Dutch special purpose vehicle (SPV), the biggest European car deal yet, involving three jurisdictions.

The International Primary Markets Association (IPMA) has warned that the EU's plans for greater transparency in its capital markets will encourage companies to list elsewhere. In a letter to the European Commission the association, which represents the views of over 60 international banks operating in the European capital markets, says that "third-country issuers will be driven from EU markets" if the obligations of the new directive are disproportionately burdensome.

The Ministry of Finance has issued two new decisions amending the regulation on listing particulars and offer documents: the Decision on Listing Particulars (26.6.2002/539) and the Decision on Offer Documents (26.6.2002/540). These decisions replace the Ministry of Finance's Decision on Listing Particulars (19.11.1998/197) and Decision on Offer Documents (13.10.1994/905).

By Yang Ho Oh, Bae Kim & Lee

Barry Metzger is a partner with Coudert Brothers practising global finance law in the firm's New York office. In over 20 years of private practice with Coudert Brothers, Mr Metzger has advised on a variety of innovative international banking and finance transactions. From 1995 to early 1999, Mr Metzger was on sabbatical from the firm while he served as general counsel for the Asian Development Bank. At the Asian Development Bank, Mr Metzger was intimately involved in the Bank's emergency assistance to Korea, Thailand and Indonesia during the Asian financial crisis, in the Bank's project financing of infrastructure, in its investment funds activities and in its work on legal reform in the Bank's developing member countries. Mr Metzger is a recognized authority on legal systems and economic law reform. He has advised the Russian Republic and the Republic of Korea on corporate governance reform and has written extensively on such issues as they affect economic development and foreign investment.