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A general exemption under Section 66 of the Banking Act 1959 of Australia announced on September 23 1996 by the then Assistant Treasurer of Australia, senator Jim Short, has opened up the door for the first time for foreign banks wanting to issue securities on Australia's wholesale capital markets in their own time.

For the first time in 20 years, new foreign banks have been awarded full branch status in Thailand. Formerly, only 14 foreign banks were permitted to have branches in Thailand, including the Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo, Banque Indosuez, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Sakura Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank, among others. On November 7 1996, the Finance Ministry granted full-branch licences to seven new foreign banks, selected by the Bank of Thailand on the basis of the amount of trade with each bank's country base, to upgrade their offshore banking units.

In early December, Ferrovias, the government agency in charge of the Colombian railway network, published the rules for railway concessions for the next 30 years. Concessions will be awarded for the modernization, maintenance, operation and exploitation of the railways.

Proposed legislative changes in Finland will further facilitate the use of mezzanine finance instruments, whose relatively high yields make for an attractive investment option. By Kari Lautjärvi and Jukka Muhonen of Heikki Haapaniemi, Attorneys-at-Law, Helsinki

IFLRev identifies and discusses the most interesting deals of 1996. By Paul Lee, Richard Forster, Alexandra Lennane and Samantha Wigham

New Zealand is about to undergo its most significant securities law reform in over a decade. Lloyd Kavanagh and Gregg Dell of Russell McVeagh McKenzie Bartleet & Co, Wellington, discuss the changes

Geoffrey Yeowart of Lovell White Durrant, London, answers some of the most frequently asked legal questions relating to the forthcoming introduction of the euro

Two recent decisions by US federal courts appear to have nullified an important legal weapon in the fight against insider trading. By Jonathan Blackman of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York

Michael Olislaegers and Axel Haelterman of Loeff Claeys Verbeke, Antwerp and Brussels, provide a detailed overview of the structure and functioning of Europe’s new screen-based securities market for growth companies

US power producer CalEnergy has made a hostile bid of £659 million (US$990 million) for UK regional electricity company Northern Electric.