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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.

Even though the existence of electronic money can be traced back to 1918, when the federal reserve banks of the USA first moved currency via telegraphic means, electronic money is still a relatively new product. In general, two distinct types of electronic money can be distinguished: identified e-money and anonymous e-money (also known as digital cash). Identified electronic money contains information revealing the identity of the person who originally withdrew the money from the bank. Also, in much the same manner as credit cards, identified electronic money enables the bank to track the money as it moves through the economy. Anonymous electronic money works just like real paper cash. Once anonymous electronic money is withdrawn from an account, it can be spent or given away without leaving a transaction trail.

On February 22 2001, Brazil's National Monetary Council approved Resolution No 2817, establishing the rules regarding the opening of new current accounts by electronic means.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Clifford Chance have advised on the first securitization of royalty payments for a multi-jurisdictional music publishing catalogue. The deal, for Chrysalis Group, is the world's largest transaction backed by music rights and the first for an international music publisher. Jacky Kelly led the Weil Gotshal team acting for arranger The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is securitizing the publisher's share of royalties for the next 15 years. John Woodhall at Clifford Chance led the team advising Chrysalis.

Brigette Baillie at South African firm Webber Wentzel Bowens has been advising a group of South African construction companies and foreign investors on a project to build the country's third road under the government's privatization programme. The Platinum Toll Road (N4W) deal will reach financial closure during April. Dan Reynell, a banking and finance partner at Clifford Chance in London is advising the lending syndicate comprising two South African lead arrangers: Investec Merchant bank and Nedcor investment bank. The other lenders are Asba Bank, Nedcor Bank and Standard Bank.