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"We know what the weather market wants"

Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and US rival Brown & Wood have acted on the euro 17.5 billion ($15.7 billion) multi-currency bond offering by France Telecom, the largest corporate bond offering to date. Clearys, led by John Brinitzer, advised lead managers BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Brown & Wood advised France Telecom. Representing France Telecom out of Brown & Wood's New York office were partners Jack Kantrowitz and Nicholas Brown. Partner John Russell was advising from the firm's London office.

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy hopes to attract lawyers suffering from the dot.com downturn to staff its new Palo Alto office.

Even though the existence of electronic money can be traced back to 1918, when the federal reserve banks of the USA first moved currency via telegraphic means, electronic money is still a relatively new product. In general, two distinct types of electronic money can be distinguished: identified e-money and anonymous e-money (also known as digital cash). Identified electronic money contains information revealing the identity of the person who originally withdrew the money from the bank. Also, in much the same manner as credit cards, identified electronic money enables the bank to track the money as it moves through the economy. Anonymous electronic money works just like real paper cash. Once anonymous electronic money is withdrawn from an account, it can be spent or given away without leaving a transaction trail.

Davis Polk & Wardwell and Allen & Gledhill have advised on Asia's first hybrid tier-one financing. The deal, for the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), was welcomed by investors despite launching into fragile markets. Davis Polk, advising Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the international tranche, and Allen & Gledhill, advising DBS on the domestic tranche, are the first firms to work on such a deal in Asia and worked closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish the regulatory structure.

Clifford Chance, Shearman & Sterling and Denton Wilde Sapte have advised on two of the first deals to build own and run power stations in the Gulf State of Oman, marking a significant step forward in the privatization of the power industry in the Gulf state. At the beginning of March Clifford Chance announced the completion of the $130 million Al-Kamil gas fired power station project on which it acted for International Power, while Shearman & Sterling expects later this month to close a similar deal for AES Barka, a joint venture of US company AES Corporation and Oman company Multitech. In both cases British firm Denton Wilde Sapte acted for the government of Oman.

Once completed, the planned shake up of Turkey’s electricity industry should provide a wealth of opportunties for foreign investors. In the meantime, however, there is likely to be a degree of uncertainty. Kristin Meikle, Chadbourne & Parke, and Begum Durukan with the Birsel Law Offices, look at the prospects for the next few years

Observers believe that new legislation in Ukraine will help give the country’s banking system progressive, international standards to adhere to. Myron Rabij of Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, Kiev, assesses the reforms

Brigette Baillie at South African firm Webber Wentzel Bowens has been advising a group of South African construction companies and foreign investors on a project to build the country's third road under the government's privatization programme. The Platinum Toll Road (N4W) deal will reach financial closure during April. Dan Reynell, a banking and finance partner at Clifford Chance in London is advising the lending syndicate comprising two South African lead arrangers: Investec Merchant bank and Nedcor investment bank. The other lenders are Asba Bank, Nedcor Bank and Standard Bank.

Law No. 724 of October 29 1984 introduced the regime of the Tesoreria Unica with respect to regions and other public entities. According to this regime, and prior to the coming into force of the recent amendments, regions, which were included in Table B of Law No. 724, had to deposit the majority of their available funds and revenues with the Central State Treasury.