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The Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) revealed in May that Deutsche Bank had made illegal transactions through its Tokyo securities unit. The unit could face temporary suspension from trading bonds and bond futures.

Project financiers are tiptoeing back into the Asia Pacific region. And law firms in the area are chasing after their coat-tails. The open-necked polo shirts of Latham & Watkins' west coast dealmakers were clashing recently with the pinstripes of Norton Rose's City gents when the two firms sat across the table to lawyer Eastern Power & Electric's development of the 350MW Bang Bo independent power project.

Tax rules revised On January 1 2001, a new personal income tax regime will come into force in the Netherlands. The new rules completely overthrow the present system of income tax for private individuals by introducing a revolutionary concept of passive income taxation. Whereas now dividend and interest income is taxed at the full marginal rate of up to 60%, under the new rules tax on all investment income will be completely abolished and substituted by a flat 30% tax on a 4% deemed income on net wealth, which effectively resembles an annual net wealth tax of 1.2%. The new rules will generally not apply to non-residents. The domestic dividend withholding tax rate on dividends of 25% (for non-residents) will continue to apply.

EU directive on taxation of savings interest The proposed EU directive on the taxation of savings interest is now stalled by disagreements between the different EU member states over the desirability of imposing withholding tax on non-resident investors in the absence of information exchanges between their tax authorities. The proposal has attracted much criticism from financial institutions and the UK government, which has threatened to veto its adoption in its current form. EU government heads and finance ministers are, however, optimistic that a planned meeting in Brussels in June will result in a consensus being reached.

At a time when Nasdaq stalwarts such as Microsoft, Lycos and Novell tumbled to record lows, May was a brave month to launch high-tech IPOs. Especially for issuers in Asia's turbulent markets. But while others such as Caripac.com and ColbyNet shelved their IPOs, a handful of companies ploughed on.

Internet IPOs, privatizations, and the delights of the hostile takeover made 1999 a year to remember for Italian law firms. But managing partners are facing some difficult decisions, and a wrong move could lead to their firms being shut out of booming markets. Rufus Jones reports from Rome and Milan

Right to receive customer deposits to be extended In September 1999, Finland's Ministry of Finance appointed a working group to assess, among other things, the need to amend the legislation concerning the right to receive customer deposits. The working group presented its preliminary findings in an interim report published in April 2000.

Deacons and Graham & James have called an end to their 10-year association. As of July 1 Deacons Graham & James will cease to exist. They are parting company after coming to a "crossroad in [their] respective strategies", said Mark Roberts, Deacons' managing partner, in a statement to the press.

Richard Forster reports from the 25th Annual Conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)Sydney on how regulators are rising to the challenge of a global market for capital

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has set out 30 accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee which its Presidents Committee approved for adoption by IOSCO members at the annual conference in Sydney.