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On July 4 2001, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) took another significant step in reforming China's banking sector by issuing the Tentative Provisions on Commercial Banks' Other Businesses. The Provisions broaden the activities of Chinese banks to cover businesses that are investment in nature, a landmark development in the Chinese banking industry. With China's WTO entry imminent, Chinese commercial banks will face fierce competition from their foreign counterparts operating in China and the Provisions will help to create a level playing field.

French company law has for a long time been the source of some confusion over the differing roles of management groups. The New Economic Regulations Law has now been passed with the intention of clearing up the mess and giving greater rights to works councils. Olivier de Précigout of Lovells, Paris, and Arnaud Latscha of Siméon & Associés look at the reforms

The latest legislative change prompting discussion is the Financial Services Reform Bill 2001 (FSRB) which is at present before the Federal Parliament. Now that the new federal Corporations Act 2001 has come into force, as of July 15 2001, the way has been paved for the FSRB to commence on October 1 2001.

On July 16 2001 the Argentine Commercial Court No. 15 ruled on the opening of preventive proceedings (concurso preventivo) to restructure over $900 million in debt of the flag-carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas and the appointment of receivers following a voluntary petition filed by the company to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy. Aerolíneas Argentinas is owned by the Spanish state holding company SEPI, which has been negotiating with the Argentine government over the airline's future.

The Privy Council (with judgment delivered by Lord Millett) has overruled the Court of Appeal decision of In re New Bullas Trading Limited [1994] I BCLC 449 by stating that it is not possible to obtain a fixed charge on uncollected book debts by treating the uncollected debts and their proceeds as two separate assets and creating a fixed charge over the uncollected debts with a floating charge over the proceeds.

The Federal Act on Investment Funds (IFA) is to be revised in view of certain changes to pertinent EU directives. At present, the investment companies quoted on the Swiss stock exchange and incorporated as joint stock companies (Aktiengesellschaften) pursuant to Article 620 et seq Swiss Code of Obligations do not fall under the scope of the IFA. The Federal Banking Commission (FBC) intends that this revision should be taken as an opportunity to enlarge the scope of the IFA. The IFA governs assets which are managed under a collective investment contract and excludes assets that are managed in a different form, particular in corporate form (Article 3 para 1 and 2, IFA). The FBC takes the position that this provision contradicts the principle of "same business, same rules". Furthermore, the existing legislation contains an unequal treatment of Swiss closed-end investment funds on the one hand and foreign funds on the other hand. Pursuant to Article 3 para 3, foreign investment funds whose units are distributed in Switzerland are governed by the IFA regardless of their legal structure.

The offering of stock options by foreign companies to their employees in Portugal has raised a series of questions under the new Portuguese Securities Market Code. The main question is whether the stock options are negotiable securities. If they are, they must be qualified either as a public or a private offer of securities and will have to comply with the public or private offering rules, which involve different procedures and requirements in Portugal.

The post-handover rollercoaster ride for Hong Kong looks like it is heading for another dip as economic growth stalls. Nick Ferguson reports on the divergent strategies taken by law firms in the territory and assesses their likely success in cushioning the landing and preparing firms for when the ride takes off again

Volatile markets, near defaults, attorney lay-offs, protests, record debt swaps, new capital markets rules, street barricades, law firm break ups. It’s all happening in Argentina. But which firms are faring best in the crisis that doesn’t seem to end? Tom Nicholson went to Buenos Aires to find out

Hengeler Mueller is to lose a partner to one of its allied firms for the first time, forcing the closure of the German firm's Italian desk. Martin Hartl, a Hengeler mergers and acquisitions (M&A) specialist who also runs the firm's Italian advisory division, will join leading Italian corporate, antitrust and securities firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, which has a best friends relationship with the German firm, later this year. He is likely to move between October and January, after he completes the deals he is still working on for Hengeler in Berlin.