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Daniel Futej Daniel Grigel An amendment to the Slovak Insolvency Code came into effect on January 1 2012 though important provisions newly regulating the responsibility of statutory bodies and other persons will not become effective until January 1 2013. The key legislative changes concern the test of over-indebtedness and the liability of the directors of insolvent companies There are two insolvency tests: financial liquidity test (the ability of the company to comply with its due debts) and test of over-indebtedness (the ratio of the company's total assets to its total debts – until the amendment it related to overdue debts). The over-indebtedness test will be assessed taking into consideration the debtor's future (expected) economic results. Subordinated and similar debts will be excluded from calculation of a debtor's financial situation. In both instances, for a company to become insolvent it is required to prove that it has more than one creditor – in the case of the financial liquidity test, with more than 30 days overdue debts.

Eduardo Guevara In 2007, Peru's first gas supply agreement for the development of a fertilizer plant was granted through a private bid. This was the first step in the development of the country's petrochemical industry. Simultaneously the Peruvian government granted certain benefits, including tax stability, based on the long-term investment required for the development of this kind of project. In the following years, new projects appeared for the development of ammonium nitrate plants, as well as an ethane project. Important amounts of investments were announced, and various authorities announced future plants in their regions.

Gustavo Vega Arrazola Savings and Credit Entities (SCEs) are regulated financial institutions of private capital authorised to develop credit and lending activities. In El Salvador, the operation of SCEs is governed by the Law of Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Entities, which came into force on July 1 2001, and was amended in January 1 2009 to its current regime. SCEs are monitored by the Superintendency of the Financial System. As regulated financial institutions, SCEs are subject to many Banking Law provisions. SCEs can be authorised to accept deposits from the public; nevertheless they can operate as SCEs without the authorisation to accept deposits, just developing lending and credit activities.

Shearman & Sterling's Financial Institutions Advisory and Financial Regulatory group head, Barnabas Reynolds, outlines why the entire regulatory effort to tackle shadow banking could be one step too far

Zambia has become the latest Sub-Saharan sovereign to tap the international capital markets, issuing its inaugural sovereign bond.

The chair of the securities lending and repo workstream of the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB’s) shadow banking taskforce has laid out the policy options his team is reviewing, giving a real indication of what form the proposals will take

The Ryanair/Aer Lingus deal reveals a shortfall in EU merger control regarding minority shareholdings. But is reform appropriate?

For asset managers willing to make their products attractive to a market coming to terms with Solvency II, the potential rewards are huge

Jane Sim Serene Sia Through a press release on October 3 2012, Singapore's Ministry of Finance (MOF) confirmed that it has completed its review of the Companies Act. Following the public consultation carried out in 2011, the MOF has accepted 192 and modified 17 recommendations of the Steering Committee. This is the largest number of changes to the Act since it was enacted in 1967. The wide ranging changes are aimed at maintaining Singapore's competitiveness as a business hub, reduce regulatory burden and compliance costs for companies, provide greater flexibility for companies, and to improve the country's corporate governance landscape. Most importantly, it will bring benefits to various stakeholder groups such as companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), retail investors and company directors. Following are some of the noteworthy changes:

Should the CFTC have read the statute more closely?