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Finland

In July 1997 a special one man taskforce was appointed by the Ministry of Finance to prepare a proposal for the reorganization of the supervision of Finland's financial and insurance markets. Particular attention was to be paid to the integration and technical development of the financial and insurance markets.

January 01 1998

Austria

The Insolvency Law Reform Act 1997 (1997 Act) contains amendments to Austrian corporate law, including statutory provisions to strengthen the supervisory board's control function in joint stock corporations (AG) and in limited liability companies (GmbH). The following reforms should more effectively prevent corporate insolvencies:

January 01 1998

Gazprom in strategic alliance with Shell

Gazprom and Shell have signed an alliance agreement to cooperate on the development of energy projects worldwide. The joint energy group will produce around 500,000 barrels a day of oil and gas condensates. As part of the alliance Shell will commit up to US$1 billion in a convertible bond to be issued by Gazprom.

January 01 1998

Singapore

The relaxation of the law that prohibits companies from buying back their own shares is now under review by the Registry of Companies.

January 01 1998

Merrill Lynch buys MAM

Mercury Asset Management, the UK's leading fund management company, has agreed a £3.1 billion (US$5.2 billion) cash offer from US investment bank Merrill Lynch. UK firms Freshfields and Allen & Overy are advising on the deal.

January 01 1998

How to set up a foreign bank branch in China

Bank branches are the basic way for foreign banks to operate in China. This is an explanation of the complex application and licensing process. By Philip Gilligan and Steven Blayney of White & Case, Hong Kong

January 01 1998

Brazil eases route for pre-export credits

Pre-export credits are offered a beneficial tax rate in Brazil. The attractions are clear but rescheduling should be avoided. By Richard W Grice of Alston & Bird, Atlanta, and Ana Carolina de Salles Freire of Tozzini, Freire, Teixeira e Silva, São Paulo

January 01 1998

Who lawyered the biggest deals of 1997

The year's leading deals identified and analyzed. The deals break new ground and many are templates for future transactions. By Richard Forster, Nick Ferguson and Stephen Mulrenan

January 01 1998

Brazil

Important features of Law 9.514 of November 20 1997 include:

January 01 1998

WorldCom wins MCI

The race for MCI Communications is over. MCI's board has approved a US$37 billion takeover offer from WorldCom, far in excess of rival offers from BT and GTE. The merger will create a company with a market capitalization of US$60 billion and revenues of US$32 billion. Some of the world's leading banks and law firms assembled to advise on the deal.

January 01 1998

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