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Foreign investors will soon be allowed to buy and sell shares on the Tadawul. Does it mark the beginning of a new liberalised investment environment?

Other capital funds as one of the components of a company´s equity in Slovak entities (Funds) are used primarily when there is a need to inject cash into a company in a very short time. A company's equity comprises: (i) share capital; (ii) capital funds (including the Funds); (iii) funds created from net profit; (iv) profit or loss from previous years; and, (v) after-tax profit or loss for the accounting period. The issue of contributions to Funds has long been a subject of intense legal discussion in Slovakia. The main discussion is focused on the issue of whether the Funds may represent cost free contributions and may be freely returned to the shareholder who provided them.

Soonghee Lee Sung Woon Kang An amendment to the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality (ARNFTC) was passed in the plenary session in the National Assembly on May 2 2014 and will come into effect on November 29 2014. This amendment prohibits parties to a financial transaction from entering into the transaction by another's real name (borrowed name transaction) and imposes a criminal and administrative penalty and civil disadvantages on the violators. The contents of the amendment include several main points. The amendment includes a prohibition on borrowed name transactions by parties to a financial transaction. The version of ARNFTC in force only imposes on financial institutions and others the duty to use the real name of the party to the financial transaction. Moreover, the existing ARNFTC leaves open the question of interpretation as to whether financial transactions not by a real name include borrowed name transactions. The amended ARNFTC prohibits borrowed name transactions by providing that 'it is prohibited to conduct financial transactions by using another person's real name for the purpose of hiding unlawful properties, money laundering, or providing funds for terrorism or avoidance of enforcement and any other illegal acts' and subjects offenders to a possible jail term of five years or less or fine of W50 million or less. However, the amended provisions limit the prohibited borrowed name transactions to cases where certain purposes are found, such as the hiding of unlawful properties. Moreover, although the amendment prohibits borrowed name transactions with the purpose of 'any other illegal acts', it does not provide the definition of 'illegal acts'; therefore, it is uncertain how the amendment will be applicable to transactions in practice.

Elias Neocleous Following the entry into force of the Alternative Investment Funds Law of 2014 (AIF Law) on July 27, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued guidance on transitional arrangements. The AIF Law regulates the establishment and operation of alternative investment funds (AIFs) in Cyprus and replaces the International Collective Investment Schemes Laws of 1999 and 2000 (ICIS Laws). It designates CySEC as the supervisory authority for AIFs. Following article 4(1)(a) of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, the AIF Law defines an AIF as 'a collective investment undertaking, including investment compartments thereof, which raises capital from a number of investors with a view to investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of those investors and is not authorised as an Undertaking for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (Ucits) in accordance with section 9 of the Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investments Law of 2012'.

Yuichi Miyashita The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is developing proposals addressing gone-concern loss-absorbing capacity (GLAC) for consideration and action at the G20's summit in Brisbane, Australia in November 2014. Although still under discussion at the time of writing, global systemically important banks (G-Sibs) may, in the future, be required to maintain a certain amount of GLAC to offset losses in the event such G-Sibs fail. The FSB has stated that GLAC is vital for authorities to have confidence and for private markets to recognise, that systemically important banks can be resolved in times of crisis without the support of public funds, while taking account of the differences in national resolution regimes. If the scope of GLAC covers senior debts that can be bailed in, a new bail-in mechanism will likely need to be introduced in Japan. The existing resolution regime, which was introduced in March 2014 through an amendment of the Deposit Insurance Act of Japan, only provides for bail-in mechanisms (write-downs or conversions of a financial institution's capital instruments) in relation to certain qualified preferred shares and subordinated debts.

James Sattin A timeless standard by which to assess the ease of doing business in a given jurisdiction, and, indeed, the strength of an economy, is access to credit. With this connection between access to credit and ease of doing business in mind, Panama has recently updated its legislation governing the creation of security interests on personal property by means of Law 129 of 2013. Intended to replace the outdated Decree Law 2 of 1955, the stated purpose of Law 129 is to 'promote access to credit and modernise the system of security interests on personal property.' In particular, some of the shortcomings of the prior regulatory framework were the high costs involved in obtaining credit, the cumbersome and repetitive registration process, the prohibition on obtaining a second or third mortgage on the same property, and the limitations placed on the rates and timeframes of the security instrument. Law 129, based on the model prepared by the Organization of American States (OAS) used in similar legislation throughout Latin America, provides numerous advantages to businesses seeking credit, and especially to small businessmen, who are typically only able to provide security in the form of movable property rather than real estate. Specifically, Law 129 enlarges the types of goods upon which a security interest can be placed, such as the inventory of a business and its intangibles, including trademarks, patents, and intellectual property. Further, the newly-enacted law allows for successive mortgages on the same good, establishes priority rules for security interests, provides a mechanism for the return of money to the consumer when the value of the secured goods exceeds the amount of the outstanding obligation, and streamlines the registration process by replacing the necessity of a public deed for personal property, with the submission of certain forms or sworn declarations which can be directly registered with the public registry, thus saving both time and money.

It wasn't supposed to take this long. Hong Kong's renminbi (RMB) bond market was purportedly born back in July 2007 when the China Development Bank (CDB) issued 5 billion yuan worth of renminbi-denominated bonds. At the time, this correspondent had just moved to Hong Kong and was covering the Asian market for IFLR. Back then, the mood in China was more expectant than hopeful: bankers and their counsel were confident that CDB's bonds would lead to many more. They anticipated full internationalisation of the currency within two to three years.

Bain Capital’s acquisition of 50% of socially-conscious Toms Shoes demonstrates how charitable giving can be built into a corporate structure

The Republic of Indonesia structured its recent sukuk to permit greater flexibility in its underlying assets. Other sovereigns are expected to follow.

The nominations for this year's Asia Wibl awards have been announced