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The Supreme Court of Mexico is reviewing a controversy, Contradiccion de tesis 2/98 y 11/98, that challenges the enforceability of arrangements under which Mexican banks have imposed charges for interest on unpaid interest. The resolution of this matter will affect the many legal disputes which arose in 1995 after the Mexican peso devaluation and the ensuing spike in interest rates (up to 100%) and could have serious financial consequences for an already troubled banking sector.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) has embarked on its most ambitious project yet, the creation of an electronic exchange. With a view to improving its connectivity, speeding up securities transactions and cutting costs, the CSE has signed a contract with an Australian computer firm to develop and install the required equipment and software. Full computerization of trading as well as back office procedures, ie clearing and settlement, is scheduled to be operational by mid-1999. The customization and testing of the electronic dealing system is under way. The same system architecture is already used by the Geneva, Moscow and Oslo stock exchanges. Even though the exchange is to go on-line, the trading floor will continue to exist for some time. Remote-terminal-based trading will follow at a later stage. The provision of central clearing facilities for stock exchange transactions under the electronic system was put out to tender and won by a major Cypriot banking institution.

A pool of French, English and American firms worked for the success of the IPO of GEC Alsthom, the joint venture between GEC and Alcatel Alsthom, now renamed Alstom. The offering, totalling US$3.7 billion, comprised shares, depositary receipts and ADRs, with a primary listing in Paris and secondary listings in London and NewYork. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston acted as joint global coordinators.

UK firms have traditionally led the development of top tier international legal practices. Linklaters’ European merger may speed up the race for global dominance. Nick Ferguson reports

• Altman Weil, the US legal management consulting firm, has poached Rees Morrison from Arthur Andersen's Legal Business Consulting Group. Morrison, who has been a consultant for ten years, joins as a principal and will be in charge of a number of critical areas for government and corporate law departments, such as outside counsel cost control, upgrading technology and organization and reengineering process. • Debevoise & Plimpton has promoted four new partners in its New York office, as of July 1. David Bernstein is a litigator and a member of the firm's intellectual property practice group. Paul Loughran works in the corporate department and the securities practice group. David Mason is a member of the tax department and the investment management group, and a specialist in executive compensation. Christopher Tahbaz is a litigator focusing on complex commercial litigation and consumer class action.

UK firm Watson Farley & Williams is to acquire the Singapore office of Sinclair Roche & Temperley for what has been described as "a substantial sum of money". The agreement is effective from September 1 1998. The move comes just a few months after Sinclair Roche & Temperley agreed an alliance with Singapore firm Colin Ng & Partners, intended to operate alongside its Singapore office.

With the increased use of subordinated debt in projects, lawyers are faced with novel negotiating situations. This article considers the problem areas. By Peter Avery of Clifford Chance, Tokyo

The US$1.52 billion financing for the expansion and modernization of Permex' Cadereyta Refinery in Mexico has been closed, the largest project financing to be completed in Latin America. Funding involves a US$370.3 million bond offering, US$804.8 million loans from commercial banks and US$346 million loans from Kreditanstalt fur Wiederafbau. The project sponsors are SK Engineering and Construction, from Korea, Siemens, from Germany, and Grupo Tribasa, from Mexico.

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, a Bermuda company owned by Marathon Oil Company, Mitsui & Co, Shell Petroleum and Mitsubishi Corporation has entered a production sharing agreement with the Russian Federation. The agreement gives Sakhalin the right to develop the Piltun-Astokhskoye oil and gas field and the Lunskoye gas field, located offshore Sakhalin Island, for 25 years. The cost of the financing of the first phase of the development of the Piltun-Astokhskoye field is approximately US$733 million, with US$385 million in equity and US$348 million in loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the Export-Import Bank of Japan (J-EXIM). Each of the lenders will provide US$116 million. In-house counsel from Sakhalin (Larry Zielke, Scott Zander and Alexander Golubnichy), from Shell (Robert Pritt) and from Marathon Oil (Jim Murphy, Rick Kolencik and David Feldwisch) worked on the deal. Coudert Brothers represented Sachalin, with partners Peter O'Driscoll (project finance) and John Sheedy (Russian law and project finance) leading the team from London and New York.

Issuer: Endesa [Empresa Nacional de Electricidad]