Search results for

A recent revision of the Swiss Law on Telecommunications (telecoms law) has brought a change of certain provisions of the Swiss Criminal Code. The impact on banks and trade businesses tape recording conversations with their business partners is considerable. The recording of telephone conversations is subject to provisions of civil and public law. The Swiss Civil Code and the Swiss Code of Obligations provide general rules on the protection of personal rights.

Presidential Decree No. 696, which became effective on June 16 1998, has clarified the rules for the issue of Eurobonds or other international debt placements by regional governments within Russia. Generally, the Decree imposes new restrictions on these activities by regional governments, and seeks to promote sounder borrowing policies. The ministry of finance is granted supervisory authority and made responsible for approving new international debt issues. The new requirements for regional governments placing Eurobonds and other international debt issues include:

Mezzanine debt, until recently a feature only of US project financings, is spreading to projects in other markets. The Asian crisis has increased interest in alternative funding sources. By Alistair MacRae of Norton Rose, Singapore

The Puerto Rico Telephone Authority agreed to sell the majority of its shares in the Puerto Rico Telephone Company to a group headed by a subsidiary of GTE Corporation. At closing, PRTA will receive US$1.875 billion — US$375 million as consideration for the shares and US$1.5 billion as dividend. The dividend will be paid through a loan, to be arranged GTE, from a syndicate of banks to PRTC.

Coca Cola Beverages (CCB), one of the ten anchor bottlers within the Coca-Cola system and the largest bottler of carbonated soft drinks in Central and Europe has been floated on the London Stock Exchange. The flotation valued the company at over £1.7 billion (US$2.8 billion). Warburg Dillon Reed acted as sponsor and bookrunner. CCB was created by the demerger of the bottling business of Coca-Cola Amatil in 12 countries in central and eastern Europe and the acquisitionof The Coca-Cola Company's bottling operations in northern and central Italy.

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]

Maurizia Angelo Comneno, Director of the legal department at Credito Italiano, Milan, talks to Barbara Galli

The International Securities Market Association (ISMA) has complained to the EU Banking Federation over its proposal for a European master agreement for repo transactions. ISMA has sponsored its own master agreement the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) since 1992 supported by legal opinions from counsel in 30 countries in order to establish a global standard. It argues that an EU agreement is unnecessary and likely to create confusion in the repo market. Thomas Hunzinker, general counsel to ISMA in Zurich, says the draft proposal goes beyond standardizing the different agreements used for domestic transactions in the EU. "We would not be concerned with the attempt by the Federation to standardize national agreements and bring them more into line with European standards but we are concerned if what they are trying to do is to undermine or replace the GMRA," says Hunzinker. "It very clearly refers to a standard document that could be used for cross-border transactions within the EU and that raised a few eyebrows." Hunzinker has tried to clarify the scope of the proposal with representatives of the Banking Federation but has received no reply from the secretary general in Brussels nor from the domestic banking federations which are constituent members. Secretary general of the Federation Nicolaus Bömcke refused to return calls.