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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.

Proposed legislative changes in Finland will further facilitate the use of mezzanine finance instruments, whose relatively high yields make for an attractive investment option. By Kari Lautjärvi and Jukka Muhonen of Heikki Haapaniemi, Attorneys-at-Law, Helsinki

IFLRev identifies and discusses the most interesting deals of 1996. By Paul Lee, Richard Forster, Alexandra Lennane and Samantha Wigham

Geoffrey Yeowart of Lovell White Durrant, London, answers some of the most frequently asked legal questions relating to the forthcoming introduction of the euro

Two recent decisions by US federal courts appear to have nullified an important legal weapon in the fight against insider trading. By Jonathan Blackman of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York

The US$150 million financing has been agreed for Termovalle I, a 200Mw gas-fired power project located near Cali, Colombia. The project was developed by a consortium consisting of KMR Power Corporation of the US and Marubeni Corporation of Japan.

British Telecom has launched a US$21 billion bid for the 80% of US telecommunications company MCI Communications which it does not already own. This is the largest ever foreign takeover of a US company. The combined company will be called Concert.

The UK's Britannia Building Society has bought a £1.1 billion (US$1.8 billion) mortgage book from Citibank International. The book consists of about 30,000 residential mortgages in the UK. On the same day, Britannia issued £100 million step-up subordinated notes under its MTN programme.