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‘Europe and the Americas’ leading female lawyers were celebrated at last month’s Women in Business Law awards in London and New York. The winners and highlights are here.

Tadashi Sato In July 2010, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) formulated and published its Guideline for Independent Committees relating to Company Scandals. It was partly amended in December 2010. The Guideline can be found online (in Japanese only) at www.nichibenren.or.jp/library/ja/opinion/report/data/100715_2.pdf.

Tomasz Konopka Borys D Sawicki Corruption has existed in every society. As historical evidence and much research shows, while it is difficult to eliminate it completely, no efforts should be spared to minimise its scale and effects. This is because corruption undercuts the macroeconomic, equity and institutional functions of a government, as well as its efficiency. The reputation of a corrupted country serves as a deterrent to foreign investment – there is much evidence that countries with a higher incidence of corruption also have lower investment and economic growth rates. Therefore, it is important for any country in need of foreign investment and fast development, such as Poland, to successfully eradicate corruption. Over the last 10 years, the Polish Criminal Code has undergone a number of changes designed to improving the legal armoury for fighting of corruption. In part, the changes resulted from the efforts of the Polish government and parliament to make Poland into a clean-hands country; other changes were imposed by the European Union in connection with Poland's joining of the organisation in 2004.

How to avoid conflating inbound and outbound Chinese M&A with financing

Securities legislation in Malaysia was recently amended followed by the issuance by the Malaysian Securities Commission of new guidelines to introduce and make operational business trusts (BTs) as an alternative investment structure in Malaysia. The establishment of BTs swiftly follows the recent wave of high-profile Malaysian-led initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2012, such as Felda Global Ventures, IHH Healthcare and Astro Malaysia Holdings. With the introduction of BTs, investors investing in Malaysian securities can tap into this investment structure which has been available in Singapore since 2006 and Hong Kong since 2011.

Banji Adenusi In April 2013, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) launched the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) as a parallel market to its main bourse – having rebranded the second tier securities market. The aim of the ASeM is to provide small and medium-scale enterprises and emerging businesses with a platform to access and raise long-term capital. Further to the launch, the NSE has updated its Green Book, which details the requirements for listing on the ASeM. What is most notable about the ASeM, however, is the flexibility it offers by way of less stringent regulations than would have been available to companies listed on the main bourse, such as the absence of a requirement for capitalisation or shareholders equity. It is important to note that the ASeM is only accessible to publicly-held companies, with such companies having a minimum of two years' operating track record. One key introduction, targeted at ensuring conformity with international best accounting practices and management control, is the requirement that companies listing on the ASeM adopt the international financial reporting standards. The rule book further requires that the company offers 15% of its share capital to the public and be held by not less than 51 shareholders, with a lock-up period of 12 months post-listing, in which the promoters and directors of the company are required to hold a minimum of 50% of their shares held pre-listing in the company, where the listing is in connection with an initial public offering. In addition to this, the company is required to have a designated adviser, whose main responsibility is to ensure that the company meets all disclosure requirements in the ASeM rules.

After five years of severe recession and price adjustments to real-estate assets in Spain, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. This good news in the Spanish real estate market is largely due to key structural modifications that should help the cycle change and increase the appetite of international investors.

Lawyers organising this year's Inter-Pacific Bar Association's annual meeting and conference in Seoul played off the success of K-pop star Psy's viral 'Gangnam Style', making a hilarious 'Lawyer Style' parody that premiered at the conference's cocktail opening.

Managing director Clare Dawson explains the ins and outs of the Association’s new suite of developing market loan documentation

With growth across the continent at a standstill, the market’s focus is on developing non-bank alternatives to channel funds to where they’re needed most