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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.

The state reinsurance monopoly has now been lifted with the enactment of Constitutional Amendment No. 13 of August 21 1996. In accordance with the new wording of Article 192, II of the Constitution, licensing requirements and other conditions applicable to reinsurance shall be regulated in a complementary law. There are at present two bills on the subject being examined in Congress.

The UK government has agreed to sell the Married Quarters Estate of the Armed Forces to the Annington Group for £1.6 billion (US$2.5 billion). The transaction, one of the largest ever UK conveyancing deals, requires the sale of 2400 properties to Annington and a sale and leaseback of 55,000 properties under 999-year head leases.

Zhuhai Highway Co

McKenna & Co has announced that it has taken five lawyers from UK rival Nabarro Nathanson, establishing 'the number one real estate practice in Warsaw'. Resident Nabarro partner Steven Shone has moved with three of his property team to McKenna & Co with one more set to join.

In September, the Stock Exchange Committee of the Botswana Stock Exchange approved new 'Procedures for Listing and General Requirements for Listed Companies'. As adopted, the Procedures and General Requirements contain:

Spanish tax law provides a significant obstacle to the implementation of Employee Share Participation Schemes (ESPSs), in that the transfer of shares to employees at no cost or at below-market prices is subject to taxation. Perhaps for this reason, such schemes have not become well developed in Spain.

Last summer, the Lloyd's of London restructuring plan came under attack by a large group of US names (as individual investors are referred to in the Lloyd's market). The US names charged Lloyd's with various fraudulent practices and violations of US securities laws.

Alongside implementing the ISD and CAD, Finland has made a number of other changes to its securities law. By Tomas Lindholm and Tarja Wist of Roschier-Holmberg & Waselius, Helsinki