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Observers believe that new legislation in Ukraine will help give the country’s banking system progressive, international standards to adhere to. Myron Rabij of Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, Kiev, assesses the reforms

"We know what the weather market wants"

Ian Garth McGill and Tom Poulton Allen Allen & Helmsley and Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks have agreed to merge. After a 15-year courtship the two firms have finally agreed to formalise its relationship.

The referral of powers from states to the federal government is a necessary prelude to the enactment of Australia’s corporations legislation. Don Harding, a partner of Freehills in Sydney, explains how the Corporations (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2001 of New South Wales provides a model for juggling constitutional concerns

Once completed, the planned shake up of Turkey’s electricity industry should provide a wealth of opportunties for foreign investors. In the meantime, however, there is likely to be a degree of uncertainty. Kristin Meikle, Chadbourne & Parke, and Begum Durukan with the Birsel Law Offices, look at the prospects for the next few years

The Polish government, when implementing the "Principles of Operation of the Energy Market in Poland in 2000 and Subsequent Years", which determes the agenda of actions to be taken towards liberalizing and privatizing Poland's energy sector, organized the creation of the Polish Power Exchange. Its founding act was signed in November 1999 and the first market transactions were concluded in June 2000.

The European Company Statute (ECS) continues its tortuous progress towards implementation. On December 20 2000, political agreement was reached by the EU's Council of Ministers to establish the Statute, and on the related Directive concerning worker involvement in European companies. However, the question remains as to whether the compromise reached, which is still to be endorsed by the European Parliament, will in practice be palatable to countries such as the UK with less of a tradition of worker involvement, than other countries.

In December 2000, Kazakhstan took another major step to reform its financial sector by adopting a modern insurance law. In a region where the concept of insurance and the need for it are still widely misunderstood, Kazakhstan's Law on Insurance Activity aims to create the type of domestic insurance industry that is necessary for any market economy to function smoothly.

Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and US rival Brown & Wood have acted on the euro 17.5 billion ($15.7 billion) multi-currency bond offering by France Telecom, the largest corporate bond offering to date. Clearys, led by John Brinitzer, advised lead managers BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Brown & Wood advised France Telecom. Representing France Telecom out of Brown & Wood's New York office were partners Jack Kantrowitz and Nicholas Brown. Partner John Russell was advising from the firm's London office.

Davis Polk & Wardwell and Allen & Gledhill have advised on Asia's first hybrid tier-one financing. The deal, for the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), was welcomed by investors despite launching into fragile markets. Davis Polk, advising Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the international tranche, and Allen & Gledhill, advising DBS on the domestic tranche, are the first firms to work on such a deal in Asia and worked closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish the regulatory structure.