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Results suggest the UK has toppled the US as the bankruptcy and reorganisation hub of choice

The city’s skyline remains intact thanks to a cleverly crafted distressed sale

As explained by Herbert Smith Freehills’ Thomas Bethel, the drop in oil prices has significant consequences for the debt financing of independent upstream exploration and production companies

Sub-Saharan sovereigns’ dollar-bond borrowings have spiked. But with macroeconomic conditions worsening, what will stop the build-up of risks in the nascent market?

Non-performing loans are a serious obstacle to the region’s economic recovery. Freshfields’ Agnes Molnar analyses the local and cross-country initiatives that promise to find value in these bad assets

Mayer Brown’s Kevin Hawken, Carol Hitselberger and Jason Kravitt explain why the revised securitisation framework will affect EU and US banks differently

Pedro Cortés Marta Mourão The Legislative Assembly is appraising a proposal to amend Decree Law 40/95/M of August 14, which establishes the right to compensation for occupational accidents and diseases. To further enhance the protection of rights of injured workers and to clarify the procedures necessary to compensate damages arising from occupational accidents and diseases, the draft law provides for a wider range of situations that may be considered an occupational accident.

Recently there have been some notable rulings by Mauritian courts. The first is Crociani and others v Crociani and others and Princess Camilla de Bourboun des Deux Siciles. In the trust deed in question, the relevant part of clause 12 stated: 'thereafter, the rights of all persons and the construction and effect of each and every provision hereof shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of and construed only according to the law of the said country which shall become the forum for administration of the trusts'.

Banji Adenusi Recent mezzanine financing in Nigeria continues to adapt globally accepted structures to meet local conditions, especially in view of the recent economic reality. A key concern for foreign lenders relates to the structure of the transaction. This has taken the dimension of junior secured loans subordinated to senior lenders, in which the obligations of the borrower group to repay is passed through special purpose vehicles (SPVs) set up to warehouse the assets of the borrower group, with the SPV maintaining back-to-back service contracts with the borrower group. Two asset financing and expansion transactions in the oil-servicing sector recently adopted this structure. In both instances, assets were split between two SPVs, with the mezzanine lender acquiring a subordinated claim to the assets of the first SPV, and a first ranking claim to the assets and receivables of the second SPV. What is most interesting (although usual from an international standpoint) is the common thread running through these transactions – the insistence by the lenders on the inclusion of cross-default and cross-acceleration provisions in the financing agreements in relation to the borrower's other financings, creating a domino effect on the borrower's obligations. Counterparties often negotiate these provisions, including the instances that trigger the operation of the clauses, along with the restructuring conditions. From the lender's perspective, these provisions are designed to mitigate the broad spectrum default events that a transaction might be exposed to, with a view to expanding the scope under which a mezzanine lender can accelerate outstanding repayments. The borrower's inability to meet its financial obligations to its other financiers raises credible concerns about its ability to meet obligations to the mezzanine lender, with the implication that rather than wait for a payment default under its facility to the borrower, it would exercise the right to sit with the senior lenders as creditors of the borrower.

José Miguel Puiggrós Gabriela Dañino Although Peru has a strong track record in developing infrastructure projects, it still has one of the largest infrastructure deficits in the region. There are many projects in different sectors of the economy that have been granted more than $12 billion by the Peruvian government between 2013 and 2014, which are expected to obtain financing and begin construction during 2015. Many of these projects will be financed under co-financed schemes, which will require the granting of government credit enhancements. A stable legal framework aimed at promoting private investment in large scale infrastructure projects, and a steady positive macroeconomic performance, have contributed to the development and bankability of infrastructure projects in Peru. Specifically, credit enhancement schemes granted by the government have played a leading role in attracting both investment and financing sources for this type of project. However, such schemes have evolved since the first projects, where they were incorporated as part of the financing structure.