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Montreal firms McMaster Meighen and Mackenzie Gervais are to merge in March 1998. The merged firm will be called McMaster Gervais and will be one of Montreal's biggest, with about 100 lawyers.

Central Bank Circular No. 19 of 1997 establishes guidelines for banks, finance and investment companies to follow when lending funds to persons who wish to subscribe to shares of public joint stock companies. The growing number of initial public offerings of shares in public joint stock companies in the UAE represents an attractive and relatively new investment opportunity for UAE nationals.

Law 8/1987 of June 8 regulating pension funds (Planes y Fondos de Pensiones), provides that each fund has a single managing and a single depositary entity. This gives rise to a system of mutual controls between the entities, and the legal regime of the liabilities arising from their actions. The new law allows pension funds to invest in foreign financial assets, where their investments are regulated by the statutory law pertaining to Spanish outward foreign investment and exchange control.

On January 1 1998 a new Competition Act (Mededingingswet) came into effect fitting competition and merger control in the Netherlands to European law standards.

On November 1 1997, the Investment Fund Ordinance was amended to include an Institutional Investor's Exemption for foreign investment funds. The amendment states, provided there is no public solicitation, non-registered foreign investment funds may be offered and sold in Switzerland to institutional investors with professional treasury, such as banks, insurance companies and pension funds. The limitation to investors with professional treasury does not exclude institutional investors, which have outsourced the treasury department to a bank or the like.

Under Legislative Decree No. 239 of April 1 1996, payments of interest and any other proceeds from bonds issued by banks or companies whose shares are listed on Italian regulated markets, are not subject to withholding or deduction. Under the Decree, payments are made to a legal entity resident in Italy (with certain exclusions) or to non-Italian-resident legal entities/individuals.

In December 1997, the Ministry of Finance released its draft for a government bill on flagging rules. The draft proposal included, among other things, amendments to the thresholds triggering the flagging obligation.

US firm Latham & Watkins has established an office in Singapore. US qualified lawyer Joe Bevash moves from Hong Kong to head the office, which will initially be staffed by five lawyers. The office, which opened on December 16, will specialize in project finance.

Mercury Asset Management, the UK's leading fund management company, has agreed a £3.1 billion (US$5.2 billion) cash offer from US investment bank Merrill Lynch. UK firms Freshfields and Allen & Overy are advising on the deal.

James Hurlock, White & Case: "Similar arguments [in favour of mergers] would apply in other European countries. We are considering our options and other firms have approached us"