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Worldwide, competition policy has established itself as a major instrument of economic policy and regulation. In September 1999, the Competition Act (the Act) came into operation in South Africa. However, since it came fully into effect, practice has revealed a need for review. As a result, the legislature recently enacted the Competition Second Amendment Act 2000 (the Amendment Act), which came into effect on February 1 2001.

Effective April 19 2001, the Central Bank of Chile decided to remove the restrictions imposed on foreign exchange transactions. To many economists this decision represents the last step of a gradual deregulation process started by the Central Bank in 1998.

News round-up In a move described by Mannheimer Swartling as a "friendly separation", five senior lawyers at the legal arm of Enskilda Securities, Enskilda Law took partnerships with the Stockholm-based firm.

Allen & Overy and Clearly, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton have advised UK telecommunications company Cable & Wireless on the issue of a $1.5 billion bond exchangeable into ordinary shares of the Hong Hong internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW). The bonds may be exchanged into Cable and Wireless' 14.7% stake in PCCW or held until their redemption date in June 2003. Allen & Overy's partner Roger Wedderburn-Day led the firms' team, which included tax partners John Baldry and Crystal Beal, international capital markets partners Simon Hill and David Benton, and corporate partner Stanley Chow, who advised on the Hong Kong aspects of the transaction. Clearly, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton partner Ashar Qureshi advised Cable & Wireless on US law.

UK firm Linklaters has advised on a $4.3 billion transaction to take diamond mining group De Beers private. The deal, which is the second largest transaction ever to take a publicly-quoted company private, was confirmed at the end of March and is expected to become effective under the South African Scheme of Arrangement this month. Linklaters advised DB Investments, a consortium company formed by Anglo American, Central Holdings and Debswana Diamond Company, on the financing of its take-private of De Beers group. The firm also acted alongside Maitland & Co as legal advisers to Central Holdings and acted for Anglo American. Clifford Chance advised mandated lead managers UBS Warburg and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, while Ashurst Morris Crisp advised Debswana.

News round-up Following the example of their neighbours across the water in Denmark, medium-sized Norwegian firms have started the year with a rash of mergers that has seen local market distribution shrink and conflict of interest problems grow.

It is 90 years since a Darwin to Alice Springs railway was first proposed. On April 20 2001 the proposal got the final go-ahead when the AustralAsia Railway Corporation; Dennis Burke, the Northern Territory chief minister; Dean Brown, the South Australian premier; and the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium signed the final key documents in Sydney, completing the transaction. The A$1.3 billion ($700 million) project involves the construction of the 1,400km railway linking Darwin to Alice Springs. The railway will also incorporate the existing Tarcoola to Alice Springs railway line and will provide rail access to a new Darwin port.

Allen & Gledhill has advised Singapore Telecom on its A$17.2 billion ($8.3 billion) takeover bid for Australian telecoms company Optus, using a novel share exchange structure. Lucien Wong led the Allen & Gledhill team.

The Prudential Insurance Company of America, the second biggest life insurer in the US, is set to raise $3.9 billion later this year in an initial public offering (IPO) when it demutualizes.

Andersen Legal is re-entering the Hong Kong market after its failed association with Ede Charlton. It will return to the Hong Kong market through a merger with Kwok & Yih, a local firm comprising five partners and 16 associates that is strong in capital markets, corporate finance and M&A.