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The lighter side of the past month in the world of financial law

Is Alibaba's Jack Ma replicating Amazon's Jeff Bezos' successful Washington Post buyout in Asia? Or is it merely a pipedream?

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) has issued amendments that significantly loosen the country's system of exchange rate controls. The move signals the further liberalisation of the national economy and is expected to stimulate its capital markets.

The European Commission (EC), by its very nature, loves to harmonise. From integrated capital markets and bank capital requirements, to its restrictive shipping law; harmonisation is a validatory process for those sat in Brussels. It's not always the right process though. As this month's cover story (p26) by staff writer Lizzie Meager discovers, an EU insolvency regime is not the way to solve the headaches caused by disjointed jurisdictional systems.

Luis Gabriel Morcillo María Camila Ordoñez In November 2015, the Brazilian National Monetary Council issued Resolutions 4444 and 4449 with the goal of attracting investments from insurance and local reinsurance companies, pension funds and capitalisation companies (institutional investors) to infrastructure projects.

Jennifer Williams Corporate law firms have geared up for 2016 with intensive lateral hiring. The new year was young when PAUL HASTINGS announced it had lured partner and alternative lending specialist William Brady from Proskauer Rose in New York. Also in early January, DECHERT hired funds lawyer Timothy Spangler to its office in Orange County from Sidley Austin. Spangler, who held equivalent positions at Kaye Scholer, advises clients on the launch of hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, and funds of funds.

For US counsel mulling over how corporate equity markets will play out this year, front of mind is the question of whether 2015's disappointing initial public offering (IPO) activity will continue.

Catherine Tsang The new year marked a new start for a number of lawyers in Hong Kong. MAYER BROWN JSM, looking to build on its recent association with PRC firm Jingtian & Gongcheng, added a new partner in the special administrative region. Nicholas Chan – an expert on Hong Kong's IPO market – joined from Sidley Austin where he was a partner in its corporate finance group. WHITE & CASE also hired in Hong Kong, adding partner Catherine Tsang from Paul Hastings to strengthen its corporate and capital markets capabilities. ASHURST brought in partner Joshua Cole from King & Wood Mallesons to focus on Asian M&A; and UK firm INCE & CO added Balbir Bindra from CEC North Star Energy to reinforce its Asia transactional practice. Also in Hong Kong, OLSWANG established a non-exclusive association with local firm HALDANES to expand its media advisory, regulatory and transactional expertise.

The UK's new mandatory disclosure rules for unlisted companies are at best another compliance hoop to jump through. But at their worst, they could be a deterrent to investment.

Olivier Vermeulen Gabrielle Wong Benjamin Büttner It has been a turbulent 12 months for the Baltics, and on January 1 there was yet another twist in the legal sector's tale. The remaining lawyers from Borenius – following the departure of a team of 13 in Lithuania to Sorainen in September – across all three countries broke their ties with the Helsinki-based firm and joined together with Cobalt. This created the largest Baltic firm by headcount – around 180 lawyers – and severed the final formal tie between a Nordic firm and the Baltics.