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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is pioneering financial regulation in the UK by becoming its sole governing power, and is closely linked to the debate over European regulation. With the Authority fully assuming its powers in November this year, Sara Ver-Bruggen talks to Andrew Whittaker about the challenges it faces

The long-awaited amendments to the provisions of Canada's provincial securities legislation governing takeover and issuer bids (sometimes referred to as the Zimmerman amendments) took effect on March 31 2001. The amendments apply to each Canadian province that has securities legislation governing takeover and issuer bids, other than Québec, where the securities regulators are awaiting legislative approvals required to implement the amendments.

Under Turkish competition law, the relevant legislation governing mergers and acquisitions is Law No. 4054 and the Communiqué on the Mergers and Acquisitions Requiring the Permission of the Competition Board (Communiqué). Under the Communiqué, a merger or an acquisition will be subject to the permission of the Turkish Competition Board if it exceeds the market share and turnover thresholds determined by the provisions of the Communiqué.

On December 15 2000, Poland's parliament adopted the law on the Protection of Competition and Consumers Act (Journal of Laws No 122, item 1319), which came into force as of April 1 2001.

On March 30 2001 the Ministry of Finance introduced a new Advance Tax Rulings (ATR) system. Under the new guidelines ATRs can be obtained - as in the past - for holding companies, financial service companies (eg financing and licencing companies), hybrid financing structures and permanent establishments. The aim of the new system is to improve the fiscal climate and to avoid the criticism that was heard in the past within the EU. An ATR will take the form of an agreement and will be published in an anonymous form

Most of New Zealand's insider trading laws have been in force for over 10 years, although during that time no one has ever been found guilty of insider trading. In March 2001 the government announced changes to improve New Zealand's insider trading regime. This followed the release of a discussion document on the subject in September 2000, and the resulting submissions, on which the government has decided to act.

Effective April 19 2001, the Central Bank of Chile decided to remove the restrictions imposed on foreign exchange transactions. To many economists this decision represents the last step of a gradual deregulation process started by the Central Bank in 1998.

Worldwide, competition policy has established itself as a major instrument of economic policy and regulation. In September 1999, the Competition Act (the Act) came into operation in South Africa. However, since it came fully into effect, practice has revealed a need for review. As a result, the legislature recently enacted the Competition Second Amendment Act 2000 (the Amendment Act), which came into effect on February 1 2001.

Allan Leung has replaced Roddy McKean as managing partner of Lovells' Hong Kong office. McKean has returned to the London office, where a group of key partners are plotting to cool Lovells' global expansion.

News round-up In a move described by Mannheimer Swartling as a "friendly separation", five senior lawyers at the legal arm of Enskilda Securities, Enskilda Law took partnerships with the Stockholm-based firm.