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The Ontario Securities Commission is attempting to dispel the uncertainties surrounding the status of over-the-counter derivatives trades. By Philip Henderson and Ron Schlumpf of Stikeman, Elliott, London and Toronto

General Telecommunications bill

Slovak bank Vseobecná úverová banka completed the first east European bank's issue of subordinated bonds to private investors.

Singapore firm Chor Pee & Company has broken into two new practices following disagreements between partners. The firm dissolved on December 31. Name partner Lim Chor Pee has started a new practice to be called Chor Pee & Partners, and is taking 20 of the original firm's 28 lawyers with him. But the remaining lawyers claim that he cannot use the name, because it is too similar to the old firm's name.

Austria's largest bank, Bank Austria, outbid three rivals to acquire a 70% stake in Creditanstalt, the country's second biggest bank. The Austrian government has been trying to privatize the stake for six years. The bank paid Sch17.2 billion (US$1.55 billion) for the stake. Bank Austria is now making a partial cash offer of a minimum Sch772 per share to Creditanstalt's minority shareholders and giving them the opportunity to convert the rest of their shares into Bank Austria equity.

The Act on bonds which came into force on August 20 1995 deals with particular types of bonds such as convertibles. Since then, no convertible bonds have been publicly offered by Polish issuers and quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. However, a few convertible bond issues are now known to be in preparation. Convertible bonds need to be attractive securities to satisfy both corporate and financial needs (eg, they may serve as protection against an unexpected takeover; the public offer or private placement, as the case may be, of convertible bonds is often easier and more successful than that of standard bonds).

The Danish securities market was reformed by the Danish parliament in December 1995. The Act on Securities Trade and the Act on Stockbroker Companies (together with amendments to the Banking Act and the Mortgage Credit Act) implemented the Investment Services Directive (93/22) and the Capital Adequacy Directive (93/6). The Act came into force in 1996 and the relevant executive orders under the Act have been issued, so that we also now have some impression of the first effects of the reform.

The Central Bank of Cyprus has drafted a bill containing provisions for the harmonization of the Cyprus banking system with that of the EU, and the establishment of a unified framework for the effective operation of banking transactions. It is expected that the bill will be passed by the Cyprus parliament in early 1997.

For the first time in 20 years, new foreign banks have been awarded full branch status in Thailand. Formerly, only 14 foreign banks were permitted to have branches in Thailand, including the Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo, Banque Indosuez, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Sakura Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank, among others. On November 7 1996, the Finance Ministry granted full-branch licences to seven new foreign banks, selected by the Bank of Thailand on the basis of the amount of trade with each bank's country base, to upgrade their offshore banking units.

A general exemption under Section 66 of the Banking Act 1959 of Australia announced on September 23 1996 by the then Assistant Treasurer of Australia, senator Jim Short, has opened up the door for the first time for foreign banks wanting to issue securities on Australia's wholesale capital markets in their own time.