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Recent corporate scandals in the US and related discussions concerning the independence and integrity of analysts and their investment research have led to similar discussions in Finland. This article provides a brief overview of the Finnish rules and regulations applicable to investment research.

According to a new notice recently promulgated in China, even if the capital contribution of all foreign investors of an enterprise is lower than 25% of the enterprise's registered capital, the approval and registration procedures of that enterprise will be the same as those of a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE). However, such an enterprise cannot enjoy the preferential tax arrangement that FIEs enjoy. If the investor pays its contribution in cash, it must pay off its capital contribution within three months after the business licence is issued. If the investor makes its contribution in kind, it must pay off its capital contribution within six months.

In December, Time magazine ran an article called the Must Lunch List, profiling 10 of the most powerful behind-the-scenes actors in Europe's increasingly integrated economy. One of the 10 was Jaap Winter, the former legal adviser to Unilever and leading corporate governance specialist who chairs the EU's High Level Group of Company Law Experts.

The first part of the UK's largest-ever public-private partnership (PPP) transaction, the controversial transfer of responsibility for the London Underground to private companies, has closed.

Milbank acts on record deal for Indonesia

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and London law firm Herbert Smith will have helped to close the largest corporate deal in Russia if the Azerbaijani government agrees to the $1.4 billion sale of Lukoil's stake in one of the country's large oil fields.

Spanish lawyers say the government must clarify proposed changes to the country's takeover laws. Last month the Spanish government confirmed it would announce amendments to the rules governing tender offers that will force bidders to make more mandatory takeover offers.

Companies listed in Hong Kong will face tougher corporate governance requirements that include having more independent directors and capping discounts on share placements.

Offshore structured finance transactions depend in large part on the integrity of the legal arrangements by which a finance company enters into its financial obligations. Where a company is used, the aim is to ensure that the separate legal personality of the company is maintained, and the company is not consolidated on the originator's balance sheet. Under Cayman Islands law, the corporate integrity of a finance company depends on the observance of corporate formalities and professional standards by the directors. It also requires the directors to have a thorough business understanding of the transaction in which the finance company is involved.

Global derivatives transactions are set to benefit fromimproved legal certainty thanks to a new master agreement document improving close-out procedures ( see article).