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The amendments to the Finnish Companies Act (see International Financial Law Review, August 1996, page 56) and certain related legislation were ratified in February 1997 and due to come into effect on September 1 1997.

At the end of 1995 the Danish parliament decided that the rules on the rights and duties of of the management of financial institutions (insurance companies, banks, stockbroker firms, pension funds and so on) should be harmonized and, where appropriate, tightened. In February of this year, the Ministry of Economy, which now encompasses the Financial Supervisor, submitted its proposal on the matter to other ministries and interested bodies for comment.

Foreign investments

The Economic Expansion Incentives (relief from income tax) Act provides a range of income tax incentives to encourage investment and industry in Singapore, particularly in the engineering and technology sectors. Since the Act was passed in 1967, it has been amended from time to time to clarify and broaden the tax incentives available to various industries.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has proposed guidelines for the establishment of a government-owned Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) that will purchase residential mortgage loans from banks in Hong Kong. The objective of this new corporation will be to provide necessary mortgage funding for an anticipated shortfall of HK$788 billion (US$102 billion) by 2005. The HKMC will be structured as a limited liability company with a financial secretary as the chairman of the Board of Directors responsible for appointing other directors of the Board.

Decree 2343 of 1996 establishes new terms and conditions for the trunking of telecommunications services. The aspects of these terms are:

The European Commission has published its deliberations on antitrust and distribution in Europe, giving an opportunity for debate on the framework for a new policy for the next century. By Ivo Van Bael of Van Bael & Bellis, Brussels

Ken Mildwaters, group legal and trade marks director of Guinness PLC, talks to Diana Bentley

The Alliance of European Lawyers has added a Polish member, Consultor Limited, which has signed a cooperation agreement and will be known as Alliance Consultor. The French member of the six-firm Alliance, Jeantet & Associés, already has a Warsaw office, but there has been disagreement over its merger with Consultor and it is operating as a separate office despite the cooperation agreement. A Jeantet lawyer in one of the Alliance joint offices says: "It is a bit ridiculous but we all hope the merger will take place some time in May or June." There are practical reasons for the delay, according to Gérard Mazet, partner in Jeantet's Paris office. "Basically we have got problems with premises and with a few conflicts of interest and so for the time being they will remain separate."

The recent law implementing EU financial services policy in France has introduced ‘regulated markets’, ‘market enterprises’ and other new concepts. By Antoine Maffei of De Pardieu Brocas Maffei & Associés, Paris