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The latest gradual steps to a free foreign exchange regime in China will be of significant benefit to foreign investment enterprises there. By Guanxi Zheng of Stikeman, Elliott, Hong Kong

German bio-chemical company SKW Trostberg is to acquire Swiss company Master Builders Technology Division from Sandoz in a Sw fr1.3 billion (US$1.1 billion) deal. Subject to antitrust clearances the sale will close in November.

UK law firms Dibb Lupton Broomhead and Alsop Wilkinson merged on October 1 to form the UK's sixth largest firm and the world's eleventh largest (see page 16). The new firm, Dibb Lupton Alsop, will have 214 partners and a total of 734 fee earners, with a turnover in in the region of US$140 million. Both firms grew from strong regional bases, Dibb Lupton in Leeds and Alsop Wilkinson in Liverpool. Their London offices opened later but by merging they hope to build their City profile as well as develop an international presence. Alsop Wilkinson has offices in New York, Brussels and Hong Kong but Dibb Lupton did not have an office outside the UK.

Canadian firm Goodman Phillips & Vineberg opened a Vancouver office on September 9. The firm poached the managing partner for the office, Paul Goldman, from Canadian rival Lang Michener.

On August 8 1996 Hollinger International completed, following a Scheme of Arrangement under section 425 of the Companies Act 1985, its acquisition of all those shares of The Telegraph plc it did not already own.

UK group Imperial Tobacco is being demerged from UK conglomerate Hanson and will be floated on the London Stock Exchange. The company is expected to be accepted for the Official List from October 1 with a market capitalization of over £2 billion.

The controversial loi Toubon restricting the use of English in financial documentation produced by state entities in France has been amended following protests. By Gilles Endréo of Linklaters & Paines, Paris

In Central and South America lawyers are experiencing mixed fortunes as one of the world's most exciting markets digests the combined effects of the Mexican peso crisis, Nafta and privatization. Richard Forster reports

Austria enacted a major revision of corporate law on July 1. The aim of the EU Company Law Amendment Act is to complete the harmonization of Austrian corporate law with EU company law. The Act applies to all corporate entities, but some changes are of particular importance to the Austrian banking sector. They relate to a bank's acquisition of its own stock, reasons for the exclusion of certain auditors of banks, financial reporting of banks and creditors' protection in the case of mergers of financial institutions.

Accompanying the International Financial Law Review 50 table of the world’s largest law firms are new tables on the financial health of the most and least international firms. Paul Lee provides comfort to those fighting to become more international