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The Italian Treasury is selling a further tranche of shares in the oil and gas company ENI with a L5.1 trillion (US$3.36 billion) international offering, part of Italy's largest privatization. The sale of the 8.75% stake in the company is being jointly led by Istituto Mobiliare Italiano and CS First Boston.

Baker & McKenzie is opening an office in Munich early next year to complement its Frankfurt and Berlin offices. Three partners will manage the office, assisted by three associates. Walter Henle and Stephan Spehl join from the Frankfurt office, which will remain the leading office in Germany. Uwe Steininger, a tax and mergers and acquisitions lawyer, joins the office as partner from Bissman & Partner. Says Nigel Carrington, managing partner at the London office: "Munich is a major German centre, and we are already strong in Frankfurt and Berlin. It is an obvious move for us to make."

Garrett & Co, the UK firm in the legal network associated with Arthur Andersen, has made a series of senior lateral hires from City firms and is seeking to set up a Hong Kong office in the next two months.

US firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has revamped its Asian practice after the departure of project finance partner Glenn Gerstell to the Washington office.

Charles Toy, vice president and general counsel of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Washington DC, talks to Richard Forster

The Central Bank of Russia recently issued Instructions giving foreign investors greater scope to invest in rouble-denominated bonds. By Mira Davidovski and Robert Chernoff of Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, Paris and Moscow

Since UK firm Allen & Overy announced the appointment of David Slade as a project finance partner in the New York office (see Insides, IFLRev, October), three other lawyers have joined Slade at Allen & Overy, effectively wiping out the Russian practice of US firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

With small home markets, Benelux lawyers have been among the first in Europe to consider cross-border mergers and alliances. Their successes will be a model for others to follow. Paul Lee reports

Following the debate launched earlier this year by the Commission's Green Paper on the review of the Merger Regulation, the Commission has published two proposals for revision of the Regulation, which it has submitted to the Council of Ministers for discussion. One of these, containing the Commission's more controversial proposals concerning reduction of the 'Community dimension' thresholds, is capable of adoption by qualified majority, as envisaged in the existing Regulation. The other proposal, which requires the unanimous agreement of the member states, contains a number of improvements to the Regulation which are likely to be less controversial.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is reviewing comments from brokers, practitioners and other members of the public on its Draft for a Composite Securities and Futures Bill (Draft Bill) issued in April 1996. The Draft Bill aims to consolidate the present regulatory regime, embodied in not less than 11 Ordinances governing the securities industry, into a single user-friendly composite bill. After reviewing comments and suggestions from the public, the SFC is expected to redraft the Draft Bill and submit it to the Legislative Council for consideration in this legislative session.