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The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is allowing for listing, trading and settlement of Eurobonds for the first time. In a further move to promote itself as a leading Asian regional exchange, it is in discussions with Nasdaq, the US exchange, to facilitate dual listings. The decision to trade debt on Australia's exchange through Chess, ASX's settlement system, was taken because of the popularity of Eurobonds in London and Luxembourg. Eurobonds can be traded by creating Cufs (Chess Units of Foreign Securities) – financial instruments similar to American Depository Receipts. The first company to take advantage of the rule change is Bell Atlantic, which launched a US$2.5 billion Euronote issue on February 27 1998. The Euronotes are quoted as notes and are traded and settled as Cufs.

• US firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has poached a five-lawyer fund management team from US rival Baker & McKenzie. The team is led by partners Steven Howard and Scott MacLeod.

Creditors have several options under the Malaysian Companies Act 1965: the company can be wound up, put into receivership or have its assets possessed. By Philip Teoh Oon Teong of David Chong & Co, Kuala Lumpur

A wide-ranging reform and codification of Italian capital markets law tidies up some outstanding problems. It also introduces detailed rules on corporate governance. By Susanna Beltramo and Stefano Agnoli of Studio Legale Beltramo, Rome

To cut perceived abuses of the safe harbour for offshore securities sales, the US SEC has restricted the use of Regulation S by US issuers. By Richard Muglia and Annemarie Tierney of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, London

The new ISDA standard confirmation for credit swaps should boost the credit derivatives market. By Daniel P Cunningham, R Brent Jones and Thomas J Werlen of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York

Nearly 75% of the voting capital, corresponding to about 30% of the total capital of Eletropaulo Metropolina was sold at auction for about US$1.8 billion on April 15. Eletropaulo Metropolina was the largest of the two distribution networks of Eletropaulo which, in turn, was the largest distributor of electricity in Latin America. The participation was acquired by Light, already a distributor of electricity in Rio de Janeiro, controlled by a consortium formed by Companhia Siderúgica Nacional, the American companies Huston and AES and the French company EDF.

Under Swiss law, domestic investment funds, including hedge funds, are to be organized either as investment companies or multiple investors' contracts. Multiple investors' contracts will be governed by the Swiss Law on Investment Funds, while investment companies are subject to the Swiss Company Law, which is part of the Swiss Code of Obligations. If investment companies are listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange, they will also be subject to the listing rules of the stock exchange.

On October 3 1997 a new Public Trading in Securities Act was published, which took effect on January 4 1998. The Act replaces the Securities Trading Act of 1991. The new Act provides, among other things, for a more detailed regulation of the field of derivatives transactions.

Spain recently approved rules to reduce the risks derived from the insolvency of any of the parties involved in financial operations in relation to derivative instruments. In the event of the accelerated maturity of the balances resulting from these operations, the netting of the balances is now allowed.