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China is implementing a flurry of regulations to manage its non-performing loan (NPL) crisis. The IMF estimates the country's non-financial sector debt will exceed 290% of GDP by 2022, up from 235% in 2016. According to one of the country's four national state-owned asset management companies China Orient Asset Management, NPLs reached RMB1.7 trillion ($270 billion) at the end of 2017 and are expected not to stop growing until 2019 at the earliest. The emergence of zombie banks lending to zombie companies has exacerbated the problem.

Steve Mickelsen, General Counsel, 3Degrees Group and Martin Dunn, Senior Counsel, Morrison & Foerster offer their views on this hot topic

It has been nearly five years since the skin in the game requirement was implemented. Has it made a difference?

Caroline Jury Eduardo Fiordiliso In Egypt, Gide Loyrette Nouel became the first French law firm with a presence in the country after launching in the capital, Cairo. Senior partner Baudouin de Moucheron will lead the new branch.

The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), covering the Rayong, Chonburi, and Chachoengsao provinces, is part of the Thai government's Area-Based Development Policy and is intended to implement the Thailand 4.0 policy. The goal is to make the EEC ASEAN's leading centre for trade, investment, and logistics. To achieve this, the Board of Investment (BOI), established under the Investment Promotion Act (1977), encourages both foreign and domestic investment through tax and non-tax incentives. The EEC Bill was approved by the NLA on February 14 2018 and will soon be enacted as an Act.

For the past two decades, technology has permeated the financial services market. Developing countries such as Costa Rica and its neighbours are being favoured by these emerging fintech startups. Entrepreneurs are focusing on developing financial tech tools in areas such as lending, payments, alternative scoring, data management, digital banking, personal finance management and crowfunding in order to offer a varied and accessible range of services for different market segments.

Richard Hawkins Prakash Segaran In Australia HWL Ebsworth Lawyers and TressCox Lawyers announced their merger in January. The bulk of TressCox's lawyers will be joining HWL under the plan. Elsewhere Jones Day opened its fourth office in Australia in Melbourne. Three partners will relocate to head up the operation.

As of January 1 2018, a new long-term interest rate for loans granted by the Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social or BNDES), known as TLP, is in force.

In furtherance of the Iosco principles, the Colombian Securities Market Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) has adopted a number of compliance-related certification requirements and is about to issue a comprehensive review of self-regulation guidelines for the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The Agreement Abolishing the Requirement for the Legalisation of Foreign Public Documents (Hague Convention on the Apostille ) (Convention) was signed in the Hague, Netherlands, on October 5 1961. The Convention aimed to specify the process for legalising documents through a consulate in one of the contracting states for use in any of the other contracting states.