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The International Primary Market Association (IPMA) is set to introduce a standard form of pricing supplement for its investment bank members despite the opposition of some legal practitioners. The standard form pricing supplement for use on Eurobond issues done under Medium Term Note (MTN) programmes, now the most common method of issuance, has taken a year to evolve given the lengthy consultation process with law firms as well as banks and the clearing agencies. "Having a standard form for plain vanilla issues is a major contribution to the market and we have put enough flexibility into the document so that it may be used on any programme," says Cliff Dammers, secretary general of the IPMA. The three big law firms in the Euro MTN market - Linklaters & Paines, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance - were all asked to make submissions on the draft. Some lawyers in those firm argue that MTNs are by their nature not suitable for standardization. "It is not a market which lends itself to standardization," says David Dunnigan, partner in the London office of Clifford Chance. "Each programme tends to be crafted to the particular requirements of the borrower." Michael Voisin a partner at Linklaters & Paines in London agrees and argues that it will necessitate issuers changing the terms and conditions written into their programmes.

US firm Seward & Kissel has pulled out of Hungary. The Budapest practice of US rival Squire, Sanders & Dempsey will take over the office. Seward & Kissel's office, which opened in Budapest in 1992 and was the firm's only foreign outpost, was staffed by two senior lawyers: partner Blaise Pasztory and counsel Peter Komaromi. Squire Sanders' five lawyer team will move into Seward & Kissel's old office under the management of Pasztory and Komaromi.

The Czech parliament is expected to pass a package of reforms aimed at lessening investment funds' influence over domestic companies. While the measures have yet to be adopted, the threat of action has been enough to spark the beginning of strategic sell-offs of Czech companies by fund-holders. The proposed legislation will reduce the maximum stake in a company that an investment fund can hold from 20% to 11%. It will also force closed-end funds to open if they are trading at a discount of more than 40%, to be reduced to a 20% limit by the year 2000.

The exodus of project finance lawyers from Chadbourne & Parke continues. Ian Johnson, a UK project finance lawyer in the firm's Singapore office, will join US firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe at the beginning of May. He is the third project finance lawyer to leave Chadbourne in the last six months. Johnson will initially work from Orrick's Singapore office but will relocate to London by early 1999. He will head the UK office with Orrick's present New York managing partner Michael Voldstad. In September, US partner Peter Cleary left Chadbourne's Hong Kong office for UK firm Freshfields. And at the end of last year Martin Stewart-Smith joined UK firm Cameron McKenna. Johnson's departure leaves the US firm with no UK partners. A spokesman for Chadbourne denies the project finance department is in turmoil, but head of department, Rigdon Boykin, has been replaced by Chaim Wachsberger.

Philadelphia-based firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP's problems in Indonesia continue. The investigation of the firm launched in February for allegedly offering Indonesian law advice in contravention of its licence (see International Financial Law Review, March 1998, page 3) has now been complemented by a full study of the activities of foreign firms in the jurisdiction and a move to revise and clarify the rules. Bertie Mehigan, head of Morgan Lewis's Singapore office, says he understands that the Indonesian police stopped their investigation of the firm in mid-April. However, on April 22 (one week after the supposed end of the investigation) Adnan Buyung Nasution, name partner at Indonesia's Nasution, Soedibjo, Maqdir & Partners, said: "The Indonesian authorities are still interrogating them, the lawyers and employees. We are still waiting for the result of the investigation." He hopes the investigation will be finished by mid-May.

Howard Trust, General Counsel, The Barclays Group, talks to Diana Bentley

Privatization and deregulation are creating a more modern business environment in Austria and law firms are under increasing pressure to provide a similarly modern service. Nick Ferguson writes

Formerly restrictive of international offerings of securities, the British Columbia Securities Commission has introduced measures more favourable to foreign purchasers. By David Glennie, Peter O’Callaghan and Geoffrey Belsher of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, London and Vancouver

Foreign investment enterprises in the project finance field must now seek the same foreign exchange authorizations as domestic entities. By Edward Turner and Edward Lam of Shearman & Sterling, Hong Kong and London

Colombian companies are increasingly looking forward to expanding their capacity into new markets and increasing their local capacity. The merger of companies is a useful instrument to enhance this capacity.