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Janice Roepnarain Since the beginning of 2012 there have been several court cases involving the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), one of the Dutch financial markets supervisors, and offerors of so-called flash loans. These are short-term loans to consumers for small amounts of money, whereby the money is transferred to the consumers on the same day that the request for the loan is made, or within just a few days. The reason behind the greater focus of the AFM on offerors of flash loans is that the Act on Financial Supervision (AFS) was amended due to the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive (2008/48/EC) in May 2011. The most important amendment is that before the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive, all credit which was repayable within three months fell outside the scope of the AFS. After the implementation of the Directive, only credit which has to be repaid by a consumer within three months and whereby the costs payable by the consumer are insignificant fall outside the scope of the AFS. Due to this amendment, many offerors of credit to consumers who previously were not regulated are now obliged to obtain a licence from the AFM. Recent case law shows that offerors of flash loans and the AFM often disagree on whether the activities concerned qualify as the offering of credit, or which costs should be considered to be part of the costs of the credit. In the Consumer Credit Directive 'total cost of the credit to the consumer' means, in short, all costs and fees which the consumer is required to pay in connection with the credit agreement, except for notarial costs. Furthermore, costs in respect of ancillary services relating to the credit agreement are also included if, in addition, the conclusion of a service contract is compulsory in order to obtain the credit or to obtain it on the terms and conditions marketed.

German and French insolvency reforms are trying to deter forum shopping and encourage pre-bankruptcy proceedings. But are they working?

Freddy Karyadi Oene Marseille Indonesia's Central Bank issued the long-awaited Regulation No. 14/8/PBI/2012 on July 13 2012 (Regulation 14/2012). The main purpose of the Regulation is to impose ownership restrictions on certain classes of bank shareholders, namely banks and financial institutions, which are subject to a 40% shareholding limit; non-financial institution legal entities, which are subject to a 30% shareholding cap; and individuals and natural persons, which are subject to a 20% shareholding cap (25% in the case of shareholding in a shariah bank). These thresholds are also applicable to multiple parties with special relationships, such as family relations or a common shareholding, or unrelated persons acting in cooperation to control the bank. Where shareholders are related or "acting in concert", they will be deemed as one party and will be subject to the higher shareholding ownership applicable to each of them.

Kai Hoshino The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (FIEA) and the relevant cabinet office ordinance were amended, effective as of April 1 2012, to expand the English-language Disclosure Rules. Under the amended Rules, foreign companies may file both primary and continuous disclosure documents in English, together with limited Japanese translations and certain defined supplementary documents. The amended Rules are expected to substantially reduce the burden of Japanese-language disclosure obligations on foreign issuers. In Japan, subject to certain exceptions, companies that offer shares, stock acquisition rights, bonds and certain other financial instruments to the public are required to file a Securities Registration Statement with the Japanese authorities. Upon doing so, the company will become subject to the continuous disclosure regime, which includes the filing of a number of FIEA documents: an annual securities report, a semi-annual report or quarterly reports, and extraordinary reports. Those foreign companies that elect to satisfy all disclosure obligations in Japanese generally prepare the FIEA documents by translating into Japanese the disclosure documents submitted by such company in its home jurisdiction. This can be very onerous as it involves the translation of, among other items, the description of the company's business, its risk factors, the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) and the company's financial statements, together with the accompanying notes, from such company's disclosure documents into Japanese.

Law Decree No 83 of June 22 2012, converted into law with amendments by law No 134 of August 7 2012, is part of a number of new laws recently enacted by the Italian technicians' government aimed at spurring Italian economy.

Nicole Ong Gerald Cheong From August 10 2012, companies intending to list on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) must meet stricter entry requirements. An issuer must have: a minimum consolidated pre-tax profit of at least S$30 million ($24 million) for the latest financial year with an operating track record of at least three years; a market capitalisation of not less than S$150 million based on the issue price and post-invitation issued share capital if it has been profitable in the last financial year with an operating track record of at least three years; or a market capitalisation of not less than $300 million based on the issue price and post-invitation issued share capital with a generated operating revenue in the latest completed financial year. In addition, the minimum issue price will be raised from S$0.20 to S$0.50 per share.

The August pricing of a dual-tranche $300 million bond offering by Mexican wind farms Oaxaca II and IV set a precedent for renewable energy financing in the region. Here’s why

Louise Hill Graham Natalie Bell Generally speaking, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is an extremely flexible jurisdiction in relation to the granting and registering of security interests. One of the strengths of the BVI as an offshore jurisdiction is that it provides a stable platform for companies to provide collateral as security for debt finance and for the secured lenders to register and protect the priority of their interest. However, the largely unfettered right of business entities formed in the BVI to grant and register security interests is subject to one particular footnote which is easily overlooked. In the BVI, business entities are required to hold licences in order to conduct certain types of regulated business "in or from within" the Territory (meaning either through a BVI entity, or through a foreign entity physically operating within the jurisdiction). These licences are issued by the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) and regulate certain types of financial services activity. The principal types of regulated activity include banking business, trust business, insurance, investment business and company management business.

Chinonyelum Uwazie Claims relating to interests constantly feature in suits filed before courts in Nigeria and have been the subject of several appeals over the years. While the courts have established precedents with regard to post-judgment interests owing mostly to the various rules of courts permitting such awards subject to court discretions, the practice relating to award of prejudgment interests remains uncertain. Save for a few isolated cases (Nigeria General Superintendence Co. Ltd v Nigerian Ports Authority (1990) I NWLR (Pt. 129) 741 and Adeyemi v Lan & Baker (Nig) Ltd (2000) 7 NWLR (Pt.663) 33), Nigerian courts have relied mostly on the common law holding in London Chatham & Dover Railway v S.E. Railway Co. [1893] AC 429 to hold that interest may be claimed only as of right where it is contemplated by agreement between parties, under mercantile custom, statute, or under a principle of equity such as breach of fiduciary relationship (see Ekwunife v Wayne (West Africa) Ltd (1989) 5 NWLR (Pt.122) 422.

Rafael Berckholtz Velarde The rapid economic growth of Colombia and Peru in the past years – the new tigers of South America – as recently described by the Wall Street Journal, combined with Chile, the more mature regional tiger, have sparked an emerging movement towards developing a regional capital market. The recent economic boom, especially in Colombia and Peru, a hunger for new capital to fund growth plans, and pension funds in these three countries with cash to invest have created the right conditions to foster what could be a powerful regional capital market force. Peru, Chile and Colombia share some of the same industries and are familiar with each other's economic histories; a path towards a regional market thus makes economic sense. Issuers and investment banks are increasingly eyeing the three countries as a relevant market to raise capital. Local banks are beginning to think regionally. For instance, in 2011, Banco de Crédito del Perú acquired a 51% controlling stake in Correval and a 60.6% interest in the Chilean brokerage house IM Trust, forging ahead towards developing a regional investment bank. Similarly, in 2011, Munita Cruzat & Claro, a Chilean financial services company, acquired an interest in Seminario & Cía SAB, one of the largest brokers operating in the Lima Stock Exchange. These recent movements suggest that there are vast opportunities to exploit capital and investments regionally.