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France’s powerful stock exchange regulator has taken the markets by storm over the last year targeting, among other things, underwriter liability and disclosure rules. Thomas Williams talks to COB legal director Florence Roussel about her role in a regulatory revolution

Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have closed the second securitization of income from the lease of buildings still under construction. The £1.25 billion ($1.78 billion) securitization of the rental income on four office buildings is the fifth deal the two firms have closed for the Canary Wharf Group, the developer that built London's most outstanding landmark, and follows groundbreaking work done for the client last year.

France must clarify whether its usury laws apply to corporate bonds if its high-yield market is to develop, say Eric Cafritz and Delphine Caramalli of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in Paris

The Capital Market Board (CMB) is using its best efforts in order to ensure a transparent environment, enabling investors and publicly held companies to become part of a sound and prosperous market. As a result of these efforts it has promulgated several new communiqués.

On June 4 2001, Mexico enacted a new Investment Companies Law (Ley de sociedades de inversión, or ICL). Most of the provisions of the new ICL became effective on December 4 2001, and all remaining provisions became effective as of January 1 2002. The ICL is the most recent attempt by the Mexican regulatory authorities to improve and modernize the asset management industry. It provides for very important changes to the way the industry will be shaped in the future. Although the regulators are still analyzing the issuance of specific regulations, we hope that they will be finalized and issued no later than the second half of 2002. The intent is to give a boost to the industry and to try to raise it to international standards. When compared to the macroeconomic size of asset management in other countries, we envision that the Mexican market has a potential growth rate of at least 30% per year over the next 10 years. In fact, the average growth rate of the industry during 2001 was approximately 67%, during the last three years it averaged 40% growth per year.

Pursuant to Article 7, Paragraph 4, of the Federal Investment Fund Act (IFA), the name of a Swiss investment fund must not give rise to deception or confusion. A foreign investment fund will also be granted a distribution licence only if these requirements are observed (Article 45, Paragraph 4, IFA). The appendix to the Guidelines for Applications for the Approval of Fund Regulations issued by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission on December 18 2001, therefore, are also applicable to foreign investment funds.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has introduced regulations permitting stock borrowing and lending (SBL). The Central Depositary System (CDS) facilitates SBL transactions and lenders and borrowers can engage in SBL only through an "eligible participant", being a member of the CSE or custodian bank, which meets with the criteria stipulated by the CDS.

On December 5 2001 the Minister for Finance announced the final budget of the present government prior to the next general election, which is due to take place in the first half of 2002.

A recent precedent-setting court ruling that upheld the rights of minority shareholders may mark the first stir of change for the nation's companies, especially conglomerates, where board decisions were often made without regard for shareholders.

Article 113 of Law No 267 of August 18 2000, regulating modalities for the management of local public services, has been recently amended by Article 35 of Law No 448 of December 28 2001 (the 2002 Financial Law).