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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.

Linklaters Swedish merger in sight

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

Many shareholders in US companies face obstacles in reaping the benefits of transactions such as mergers which increase the value of their stock. Mark Bergman, head of the securities group at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, examines the implications of the often restrictive US securities laws

The passing of the Commerce Amendment Act in May 2001 marked another step towards the harmonization of Australian and New Zealand business law. Proposed in 1999 by the previous National government and then modified by the present government, it is one of a series of changes in New Zealand competition law, which also includes specific regulatory regimes for parts of the electricity and telecommunications industries.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on May 17 2001 unveiled the long-awaited online price bidding proposal, a new mechanism of price fixing in initial public offerings (IPOs). The proposed scheme is intended to allow market forces of supply and demand to determine the price of primary securities offerings.

The new provisions of the Act on Insurance Companies (ICA) and the Act on Foreign Insurance Companies (FICA) have expanded the business opportunities of Finnish insurance companies and insurance companies located outside the EEA. New rules on the marketing of insurance products and services were introduced concurrently. The objective of the amendments is to expand the possibilities of insurance companies to operate in the financial markets and to harmonize the marketing rules and requirements applicable to credit institutions and insurance companies. The amendments of the ICA and FICA became effective on May 15 2001.

Allen & Overy's recent poach of a securitization specialist from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is already paying dividends. Ken Aboud, the jewel in the crown of Orrick's highly regarded Asian securitization team, has just completed Singapore's first securitization to be rated by one of the three leading credit rating agencies. Freshfields advised Fitch IBCA on the S$200 million ($110 million) issue while Wong Partnership, the Singapore firm that formed a failed joint venture with Clifford Chance, advised CapitaLand Residential.

John Walker, Milbank Tweed US firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has helped close the largest static collateralized debt obligation (CDO) in Europe, advising three Portuguese Banks on the second Tagus Global Bond Securitization. At euro1.1 billion ($942 million) the transaction is the largest static CDO in Europe and only the second collateralized bond obligation to include Portuguese debt. Milbank Tweed partner John Walker advised lead managers and arrangers Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank on the transaction that involved an issue of three tranches of bonds at different values and maturity dates on behalf of a syndicate of Portuguese banks. Pedro Cassiano and Paulo Gomez from the Portuguese firm Veira de Almeida & Associados advised the syndicate of banks, including Banco Comercial Português, Espírito Santo Activos Fianceiros and AF Investimentos Gestão de Patrimónios, on Portuguese law.

Among the most important recent developments in the Belgian financial landscape are the transformation of the Brussels stock exchange into Euronext Brussels and the start of Nasdaq Europe following the takeover of the pan-European Easdaq market by Nasdaq.