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Senior Partner, Koo and Partners

To prevent interference in the capital markets by US lawmakers, a Wall Street trade body has proposed new voluntary codes to govern the activities of financial analysts. The Securities Industry Association (SIA) released the guidelines in June. The move is being seen as an effort to pre-empt the outcome of an investigation by the House Financial Services subcommittee into analysts' work.

The House of Representatives has approved legislation that will save investors and companies nearly $8 billion in fees over the next five years. The bill, which was passed overwhelmingly last month, reduces the rates that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges on equity transactions, securities registrations, public offerings and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals. The cut follows pressure from industry trade groups, including the Security Traders Association, which said the SEC was collecting much more than it needed to cover its activities.

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has republished proposed Rule 45-501 (the "proposed rule") on exempt distributions. The proposed rule has been revised as a result of comments received on the version of the proposed rule originally published for comment in September 2000 (the "original version").

Linklaters Swedish merger in sight

The government is completing the preparation of a Finance Act, the pre-project for which envisages an in-depth reform of the legal regime governing the Spanish financial sector. One of the basic aims sought by the government with this Act, as deduced from sections of the pre-project, is to provide a solid base for the mechanisms that guarantee true protection to the investor. For this purpose, the pre-project attempts to promote the transparency of the markets and the control of insider information.

White & Case and Latham & Watkins have advised on the $2.2 billion financing of the two largest independent power projects in the US. Arthur Scavone, co-head of White & Case's worldwide energy, infrastructure and project finance practice, closed the $2.2 billion Teco/Panda power deal in June, following the firm's work for the joint venture of Panda Energy International and Teco Energy.

"It's one thing to put a nice pretty code of standards together and put it on the shelf. I'm more interested in whether it's being applied in the market"

Annelies van der Pauw Davis, Polk & Wardwell and Allen & Overy have advised on an issue of ordinary shares for the Dutch insurer AEGON. The issue of shares by private placement to investors in The Netherlands and offering to institutional investors outside of the country, was made to finance the acquisition of the direct marketing services of US retail chain JC Penney Company. Allen & Overy partners Annelies van der Pauw and Thomas Werlen advised AEGON on the $1.5 billion while Davis, Polk & Wardwell partner Jeffrey Oakes advised joint book runners and lead managers Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

The Central Bank of Brazil established, in its Circular No. 3.039 of June 8 2001, the 2001 Census of Foreign Capital in Brazil. This was due to the increase of foreign capital which has been invested in the country over the last five years.