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The Forum of European Securitization Commissions (FESCO) has called for common European standards for alternative trading systems (ATSs). At present alternative systems are treated as full exchanges in some member states but not in others, which can lead to an inadequate supply of information to investors, the regulators have said.

The Argentine government recently announced a $29.48 billion debt swap of short term bonds for securities with longer-term maturities, deferring debt service costs by approximately $17 billion through the end of 2005. The "mega" exchange reduces financial needs at a time when it is crucial to make room to restore growth and ease fears of a default. The transaction was approved by Decree No. 648 dated May 16 2001.

The Australian attorney general is on a mission to force greater liberalization of Singapore's legal market. Singapore's reform efforts so far, says Daryl Williams, have favoured the UK and US firms far more than the Australians. In the context of a free trade deal between Australia and Singapore, this hardly seems fair. Williams took his case to the Singaporeans at the beginning of June with a legal services mission to the city state, comprising representatives of the International Legal Services Advisory Council, the Law Council of Australia, law firms, law schools and arbitration and mediation specialists.

The European Securitization Forum (ESF) has outlined the need for regulatory harmonization to bring greater efficiency to the market. Speaking at the annual meeting of the International Council of Securities Associations, Tamara Adler, chair of the ESF, highlighted the goals of the group's proposed Framework for European Securitization.

Norton Rose is preparing to increase its Chinese practice in 2002. The UK firm has just applied to the Chinese ministry of justice for a licence to practice in Beijing and also plans to return to Hong Kong next year, after its three-year exile comes to an end.

Companies around the world have cut back on consolidation this year, according to a survey by international accountancy firm KPMG. In what is a worrying report for international mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyers, the accountancy firm's corporate finance group reported that the number of deals in the first half of 2001 were down 32% on the same period in 2000 marking a 54% drop in activity.

Restructurings that involve either Chinese assets or Chinese joint venture partners can pose real problems for foreign creditors. Raymond Lau, Joe Bannister and John Banks of Lovells, Hong Kong, examine the options available, together with the various cross-border issues that will arise when trying to recover assets from China

The Argentine government has passed major legislation that it hopes will increase successful capital markets activity by offering greater investor protection and transparency. Javier Errecondo and Diego Salaverri of Bruchou, Fernández Madero, Lombardi & Mitrani, Buenos Aires, examine the new regime

Ofta wants tighter control of telecoms M&A in Hong Kong. In June, the Hong Kong government closed the consultation period on proposals to tighten the regulatory regime for M&A in the telecoms industry. Katie Elias of Simmons & Simmons, Hong Kong, reviews the proposals

Citigroup’s latest buy signals closer integration between the US and Mexico. With a new ruling party and a raft of pro-business reform measures in the pipeline, Mexico is attracting attention from growth-minded international corporations. Yet the legal market remains dominated by domestic firms. For now. Tom Nicholson reports