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Under Turkish competition law, the relevant legislation governing mergers and acquisitions is Law No. 4054 and the Communiqué on the Mergers and Acquisitions Requiring the Permission of the Competition Board (Communiqué). Under the Communiqué, a merger or an acquisition will be subject to the permission of the Turkish Competition Board if it exceeds the market share and turnover thresholds determined by the provisions of the Communiqué.

The Athens Stock Exchange launched a new market for high-tech, high-growth companies in April, looking to capitalize on the same opportunities as exchanges like the Neuer Markt. Yannis Avgerinos, of the British Institute of International & Comparative Law, looks at the rules for companies listing on the new exchange

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is pioneering financial regulation in the UK by becoming its sole governing power, and is closely linked to the debate over European regulation. With the Authority fully assuming its powers in November this year, Sara Ver-Bruggen talks to Andrew Whittaker about the challenges it faces

Most of New Zealand's insider trading laws have been in force for over 10 years, although during that time no one has ever been found guilty of insider trading. In March 2001 the government announced changes to improve New Zealand's insider trading regime. This followed the release of a discussion document on the subject in September 2000, and the resulting submissions, on which the government has decided to act.

On December 15 2000, Poland's parliament adopted the law on the Protection of Competition and Consumers Act (Journal of Laws No 122, item 1319), which came into force as of April 1 2001.

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.

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.

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.

Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith have worked alongside Scottish firm Tods Murray to structure a £1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) collateralized loan obligation (CLO) for Bank of Scotland, the first securitization of corporate loans under Scottish law. The deal, which uses a vehicle called Melrose Financing No 1 registered in England, is a true-sale cash flow CLO backed by Bank of Scotland loans to medium-sized UK corporates. The size of the individual loans securitized distinguishes Melrose from HSBC Bank's pioneering Clover Funding No 1 deal last year, in which a large corporate loan portfolio was securitized. Melrose sold two tranches of notes in dollars, sterling and euros and the structure enables further issuance.