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In December 1997, the Ministry of Finance released its draft for a government bill on flagging rules. The draft proposal included, among other things, amendments to the thresholds triggering the flagging obligation.

Quebec has moved to drop the requirement that prospectuses must be published in French, as well as other discouragements to foreign issuers. By Andrew Fleming of Ogilvy Renault, London

China's new foreign loans regime bars non-profitable companies from seeking international finance, and also limits the profitable ones. Worries about the Asian crisis have ensured caution. By Guanxi Zheng of Stikeman, Elliott, Hong Kong

The collapse of BCCI resulted in a number of cases. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal and the Privy Council (replaced by the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong since July 1 1997) have recently delivered two judgments.

On November 1 1997, the Investment Fund Ordinance was amended to include an Institutional Investor's Exemption for foreign investment funds. The amendment states, provided there is no public solicitation, non-registered foreign investment funds may be offered and sold in Switzerland to institutional investors with professional treasury, such as banks, insurance companies and pension funds. The limitation to investors with professional treasury does not exclude institutional investors, which have outsourced the treasury department to a bank or the like.

On January 21 Swiss chemical group Ciba announced it is to buy UK industrial chemical maker Allied Colloids with a friendly offer of US$2.33 billion. Ciba Specialty Chemical Holding bid US$3.36 per share of Allied Colloids, knocking out rival US bidder Hercules.

Corporate governance and insider trading rules limit the options for a target's management. Long-term planning is essential. By Philip Rogers of Arnheim & Co*, London, and Christian Altvater of Nehm & Co*, Frankfurt

• Dechert Price & Rhoads has won the services of Susan Ervin, former deputy director and chief counsel of trading and markets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US derivatives regulator. Ervin joins the firm's Washington DC office as counsel.

Despite turbulence on the markets, Malaysia's investment-led infrastructure development programme looks quite promising. By Winston Bernard Silva, advocate and solicitor, Singapore

The market for Brazilian sovereign debt is becoming increasingly attractive for international banks. By Walter Douglas Stuber and Adriana Maria Gödel of Amaro, Stuber e Advogados Associados, São Paulo