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South Korea's competition watchdog has said some of the country's largest companies could have to sell shareholdings worth $2.9 billion or risk losing their voting rights on the stakes. The Fair Trade Commission has accused the Korean conglomerates (chaebols) of violating Korean laws aimed at limiting the size of companies.

By Michael Evans

David Deck of Shearman & Sterling on why the peculiarities of Japan’s rent laws make real estate-backed deals tricky

US-style exchange offers are catching on in the Eurobond market. James Cole of Shearman & Sterling explains how they are carried out

The City Council of Bogotá has issued Act 65 of 2002 (Acuerdo 65 de 2002) by means of which it has passed an industry and commerce tax reform. The Act includes reforms related to taxpayers, taxable base, tax withholdings, and an increase in the applicable rates that had been proposed by the city mayor since last year. The most relevant aspects of the reform are outlined below.

Clifford Chance has advised France Telecom on the latest part of its disposal programme, which has seen the company selling its transmission tower business Télédiffusion de France (TDF) to a private equity consortium for €1.9 billion ($1.8 billion). Ashurst Morris Crisp advised the consortium, which consists of Charterhouse Development Capital, CDC Ixis Equity Capital and Caisse des Dépôts, the French bank. Clifford Chance advised France Telecom and White & Case and Linklaters advised the banks.

Minter Ellison is advising the Australian-led consortium that has won a contract worth up to $14 billion to supply liquefied natural gas to the Guangdong LNG Project in southern China. The decision to award the contract to the North West Shelf Venture – which comprises Woodside Energy, BHP Billiton, BP, ChevronTexaco, Shell and Japan Australia LNG – creates Australia's largest-ever single export deal.

Proposed amendments to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) corporate governance guidelines were recently published in response to the Saucier Report on corporate governance in Canada. Unlike the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the TSX does not have corporate governance listing standards. Instead, TSX companies are required to disclose their corporate governance system on an annual basis and, where the system differs from the TSX guidelines, to disclose the reasons for the difference.

Ed Greene of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton calls for greater cooperation between Europe and the US to solve some of the problems afflicting world markets

Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance are reaping the rewards of one of the largest management buy-outs in Europe this year after senior executives at Irish real-estate company Green Property were successful in taking the company private last month. Green Property managing director Stephen Vernon made the bid through the Rodinheights consortium backed by Merrill Lynch International and Bank of Scotland. Rodinheights' €1 billion ($989 million) bid was announced on July 3 beating those of rival consortia like Deutsche Bank Real Estate Private Equity and Goldman Sachs & Co's Whitehall fund. Rodinheights is offering €9.80 for each of Green Property's shares and shareholders are expected to accept the offer this month.