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Under a Ministry of Justice proposal yet to be formally released, Finland would legislate to clarify the regulatory regime for netting in the securities and currency markets. The present uncertainty surrounding the legality of netting under Finnish insolvency laws would be largely dispelled by making netting (including close-out netting and multi-party netting) and certain related procedures expressly enforceable if based on terms, such as those of the ISDA master agreement, widely used in securities and currency trading.

The Danish rules on insider trading are contained in the Securities Trading Act (STA) of December 20 1995 which entered into force on May 1 1996 and are basically the same as the rules contained in the earlier Securities Market Act, which implemented Directive 89/592 of November 13 1989 coordinating regulations on insider dealing. The Directive is a Minimum Directive and the provisions of the STA are more stringent than those laid down by the Directive.

Earlier (see International Financial Law Review, October 1996, page 46) briefings on changes brought about by the EU Company Law Amendment Act 1996 focused on those provisions which have a particular effect on the Austrian banking sector. The following seeks to provide a more general outline of the contents of the Act.

The May 1996 edition of International Financial Law Review (see page 50) reported that the New Zealand government planned to abolish the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The government has recently announced that it has scrapped this plan.

The Singapore Stock Exchange introduced a new Chapter 9A to its Listing Manual. The new provisions apply to transactions between:

In November 1996, the Consumer Council published a Competition Policy Report urging the government to enact competition laws on collusive agreements, abuse of dominant position, abuse of collective dominance and control of markets through mergers and acquisitions. The report was the first of its kind in Hong Kong, which at present does not have any laws governing monopolies, cartel-like supply structures and other anti-competitive practices.

By Decree 253 of February 1997, the Colombian government, using its powers under the economic emergency decree, has announced that it will sell its controlling interest in the coal mine known as El Cerrejón North, located in the Guajira region of northern Colombia. El Cerrejón is one of the world's larger coal mines, with an annual output of 16.5 million metric tons of bituminous thermal coal, and total reserves of some 4,600 million metric tons. The government owns a 50% interest in El Cerrejón North (through Carbocol, a state-owned corporation), with the other 50% owned by Intercor, a wholly-owned Colombian subsidiary of Exxon Corporation.

The landmark Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Qualifications of Domestic and Foreign Securities Institutions Dealing in Foreign Investment Shares became effective on December 1 1996. The regulations aim to standardize the qualifications of domestic and foreign securities institutions, such as brokerages and underwriters, that deal in foreign investment shares listed on the Chinese market and domestic securities institutions that deal in foreign investment shares listed outside China.

From November 1 1996, the Ghana Stock Exchange adopted new rules establishing the Securities Clearing and Settlement House (SCSH), which serves as a centralized clearing and settlement facility for stock exchange trades. The SCSH is run on a day-to-day basis by the managing director of the stock exchange. Policy for the SCSH is set by the Stock Exchange Council.

The Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago has proved to be an efficient alternative for the resolution of business disputes in Chile. Around 25 disputes were submitted to the Centre in 1995 and 1996 and the majority were resolved by agreement of the parties with the participation of the arbitrators. Typically, the first phase of arbitration consists of a conciliation effort on the part of the arbitrator exploring alternatives to a negotiated settlement.