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The income tax liability of a recipient of profits on the disposal of assets has long been a grey area of income tax law. Problems arise when trying to distinguish between taxable income and non-taxable capital gains. The recent decision of the Privy Council in Rangatira Limited v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue provided an opportunity to clarify the law in this area. Hence the decision had been keenly awaited by the New Zealand investment market.

US rail services company CSX is seeking to merge with US freight railroad Conrail, in a cash and share deal worth US$9.4 billion. The merger would create one of the largest freight transportation and logistics companies. Conrail is also facing a US$10 billion hostile bid from Norfolk Southern Corporation, a rail network company.

Dutch financial services company Aegon is buying the insurance operations of Providian Corporation in a US$2.62 billion stock transaction. It is the largest acquisition in the life insurance industry.

Two sets of rules came into force in January to provide a legal and regulatory framework for a new collective investment vehicle. Tim Cornick of Macfarlanes, London, looks at the issues

Public equity markets are beginning to play an important role in infrastructure finance. Roger Dyer and Ian Harvey-Samuel of Freshfields, Singapore, discuss the guidelines for listing infrastructure project companies in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand

Proposed legislative changes in Finland will further facilitate the use of mezzanine finance instruments, whose relatively high yields make for an attractive investment option. By Kari Lautjärvi and Jukka Muhonen of Heikki Haapaniemi, Attorneys-at-Law, Helsinki

South Africa's largest industrial company and one of the world's top five brewers, South African Breweries, made a US$362 million offering of ADSs into the US and internationally. The offering was conducted under Rule 144A and Regulation S. The lead managers were Robert Fleming and Cazenove & Co.

Clifford Chance partner Tim Soutar is returning to London from Hong Kong to bolster the firm's Asian capability in London. He will also assist with the coordination of the firm's global projects group, headed by Rodney Short.

Michael Olislaegers and Axel Haelterman of Loeff Claeys Verbeke, Antwerp and Brussels, provide a detailed overview of the structure and functioning of Europe’s new screen-based securities market for growth companies

On November 11 1996, South Africa's new Labour Relations Act took effect. The Act, to a large extent, replaced the prior South African labour law framework. The primary focus of the Act is the regulation of relations between trade unions and employers. However, to a lesser extent, the Act also regulates important aspects of the relationship between employers and individual employees. The Act encompasses all sectors of the labour force, in contrast to the predecessor legislation which did not cover employees in the agricultural, domestic services or public sectors.