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By Carlos de Sousa e Brito and Filipe Falcao Oliveira of Carlos de Sousa e Brito & Associados, Lisbon.

By Duarte Abecasis and Francisco Santos Costa of Luiz Gomez & Associados, Lisbon

By Ronnie Price of Portugese Chamber of Commerce, London

Japanese lawyers are opposed to the outcome of a government-commissioned legal report, which recommends partnerships with foreign firms for the sake of the economy. The Corporate Legal System Study Group, set up under the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, has identified areas for legal services reform. Highlighting the globalization of the economy, the report said: "The current judicial system is incapable of adequately supporting the activities of enterprises."

US financial institutions fear they will be exposed to more lawsuits following the adoption of new disclosure rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Although the privatization process began in Turkey in the early 1980s, it has accelerated recently as a result of the IMF and World Bank-sponsored economic reform program. Within the framework of this program, a decree (the decree) was enacted in July to start the privatization of Türkiye Vakiflar Bankasi (Vakif Bank). This privatization is the first step in what is expected to be a radical restructuring of the public banks in Turkey.

The German government has been quick to respond to Vodafone’s ground-breaking hostile bid for Mannesmann. In June, it introduced proposals to regulate takeovers for the first time. Hartmut Krause of Allen & Overy, Frankfurt, explains the proposed rules

On August 10 2000, within the space of two hours, Brazil sold $9.3 billion in stocks and bonds, mostly to foreign investors. This represents the strongest sign yet that investors have regained confidence in Brazil after last year's currency devaluation.

The general principles governing a lead manager's duties under Belgian law were confirmed by the Brussels' commercial court on February 10 2000.

The Central Bank of Ireland recently approved what is believed to be one of the first regulated exchange-traded funds in Europe. Exchange-traded funds have become an extremely popular investment vehicle in the US and it is anticipated that European investors will also be attracted to the product's benefits. An exchange-traded fund permits investors to effectively purchase a correctly weighted basket of stocks to accurately track an index. It is structured to reduce costs at the fund level by providing that subscriptions and redemptions for shares in the fund take place by way of an in specie transfer of large blocks of securities of the type in which the fund is established to invest. This transfer obviates the need for the fund to purchase the securities directly in the market and thereby reduces transaction costs at the fund level. Generally, exchange-traded funds make use of equity derivatives to ensure compliance with concentration restrictions. Facilities are also generally provided for smaller investors to purchase shares on the secondary market through an accepted clearing system.