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Iñigo Rubio Lasarte It seems that Spain may see a solution in the coming weeks to the nine Spanish highways that filed for insolvency within recent months. The Government is working on a plan to finally rescue the insolvent concessions, with the acceptance of the financial lenders. According to various government sources, the proposal consists of nationalising the insolvent concessions (AP-41, R-2, R-4, R-3 and R5, AP-36, Aucosta, Ciralsa, M-12 and Ausur) by contributing the equity of the concessions to a public company. After the Government takes control, it will agree on a restructuring of the debt with the financial lenders, including substantial write-offs. The plan will need the support of both the equity sponsors and the financial lenders, and it is here that a substantial discrepancy may appear between the Spanish and foreign lenders.

The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) initiative may not be a legal requirement, but it is one of the most important business requirements for potential investors into South Africa today.

Chinese corporates have their eyes fixed on foreign targets. But this new phase of M&A comes with risks and challenges

Freddy Karyadi Oene Marseille The Government has recently issued several new Ministry of Finance (MoF) regulations (PMK) relating to general tax provisions, in order to improve the implementation of Government Regulation 74/2011 (PP-74), which is the main implementing regulation of the General Tax Provisions and Procedures Law (KUP Law). The MoF seems to want to streamline the prevailing regulations by putting as much content as possible in the PMKs to minimise the issuance of lower-ranked tax regulations. The tax audit is one of the new MoF regulations which will be discussed below.

What can the financial services industry expect from the new UK regulatory authorities?

Julieta Rodriguez Molina In this era of increased globalisation, the need for strategically located regional headquarters is paramount. Multinational companies are dividing their operations in homogeneous markets so as to allow them to more effectively address key differences between regions, which in turn allows for closer interaction with consumers, clients and stakeholders, which will ultimately help these companies to achieve sustainable long-term growth. Ideally situated in the middle of Latin America, the Republic of Panama offers the best environment for any multinational company establishing a regional headquarters. As of January 1 2012, 63 international companies have already established regional branches in Panama, including Samsung Electronics, LG, DHL, Dell, Hutchison Port Holding Group, HSBC, Maersk, Scotia Bank, Assicurazioni Generali, Tetrapack, PSA Peugeot Citroen, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and McDonalds.

In the latest twist to the Cœur Défense case, a Versailles court has recognised creditors’ rights. The counsel who pleaded the case explains the rulings

As US and UK exchanges loosen listing rules, Asia is cracking the regulatory whip to improve market integrity. Which is the best approach for long-term success?

Claudia Bonelli Pedro G Seraphim In every analysis of Brazil's potential for growth and international competitiveness, a very common word is bottleneck. Indeed, Brazil has several of these, especially when the subject is transportation infrastructure. Crowded airports, poorly maintained federal roads, a scarce railroad system, insufficient public transportation in the big cities, and absolutely deficient ports. Indeed, these factors have affected the country's agricultural, industrial and exportation competitiveness, and have certainly played an important role in Brazil's weak GDP performance in recent years. There is a relative overall improvement in the country's macroeconomic condition, aided by maintaining the ninth largest internal market in the world. Brazil has been raised to 48th place on the World Economic Forum's Global Competiveness Index 2012-2013, but it drops to 79th position when it comes to the quality of transport infrastructure.

Stamatiou Costas On February 21 2013, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued a circular addressed to Cyprus investment firms (CIFs) to draw their attention to the obligations attached to their freedom to provide services in other EU member states (host member states). The provision of services under the freedom to provide services means that a CIF provides services freely in the host member state without having a physical presence there, for example through its website. Different arrangements apply if the CIF has employees or representatives physically present in the host member state acting on its behalf. These are contained in article 76 of the Investment Services Law, which regulates the establishment of a branch or the appointment of a tied agent attached to a branch established in the host member state. A CIF providing investment services in a host member state under the freedom to provide services must notify CySEC of its intention to do so in accordance with article 79 of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007, as amended (the Investment Services Law). Article 79 stipulates that a CIF may not start to provide services or perform activities in the host member state until it receives notification from CySEC that the competent authority of the host member state has been informed of its intention to provide services there.