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For investment funds, smart beta is purported to be innovative leap. But, as explained by Arthur Cox's Adrian Mulryan, there are questions over whether marketers are steering it into choppy retail waters

Mall of Mont Choisy Limited (MML) was party to an agreement to develop and lease a supermarket (ADL) with Pick 'N' Pay Retailers (proprietary) Limited. ADL envisaged that the parties would enter into a formal lease agreement on a subsequent date, which would be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Mauritian courts and which would not contain any arbitration clause.

Dina Al Wahabi There are two types of securities that are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QE), namely, shares and bonds. Only governmental bonds issued by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) on behalf of the Government of Qatar are listed on the QE. Although the procedures relating to pledging of securities prescribed by the Qatar Central Securities Depository (QCSD) Rules of Dealing do not differentiate between shares and bonds, there are legal and practical differences in pledging bonds under the Qatari Civil Code 22 of 2004. This article will set out a summary of the issues relating to the creation of a pledge over securities and discusses enforcement issues in Qatar. The QE is the securities market in the State of Qatar and is regulated by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority. Last year, the QE was upgraded from frontier to emerging market status by index provider MSCI, signaling investor confidence and improved governance. The QE has 43 listed companies and trades on securities, Government Bonds, Sukuks and Treasury Bills issued by the QCB.

Juan Luis Avendaño Nydia Guevara Banks' subordinated debt and its impact on regulatory capital are still regulated in Peru under the Basel II standards. Since their inception in 2009, Peruvian banks have issued tier 1 and tier 2 hybrid instruments in the form of subordinated bonds. The basic features of Peruvian banks' subordinated debt instruments for purposes of qualifying as regulatory capital are that they: i) are unsecured; ii) rank junior to all other obligations and senior only to equity; iii) have loss-absorption capabilities; and iv) have a minimum term to maturity of five years.

Banji Adenusi To address liquidity challenges in the Nigerian electricity supply industry, and create an economically viable and sustainable sector, the Nigerian Central Bank recently issued terms and conditions to deposit money banks for participation in the Nigerian Electricity Market Sector Facility (CBN-NESMF). This follows the handover of the Nigerian utility company, PHCN, to successor companies. The N213 billion ($1 billion) facility, with a 10-year tenor and 12-month moratorium period on the principal amount, is designed to settle outstanding payment obligations to market participants, service providers and gas suppliers in the Nigerian electricity market (beneficiaries), and will be warehoused in an SPV set up by the apex bank and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and under administration and management of an asset manager. As expected, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) will refinance the facility by repaying the lenders in proportion to their stated commitment as defined in the various transaction documents, with the Central Bank subscribing to debenture notes issued by the SPV in the total sum of the facility amount. Of crucial importance is the role played by the banks and their designation in relation to their functions. Yet, what is common to all is the responsibility of ensuring the reasonable protection of the best interests of the SPV.

Rashid Bahar The Federal Council opened on November 28 2014 a consultation on a major modernisation of Swiss corporate law. The draft bill aims, on the one hand, to implement on a statutory level the requirements of article 95 (3) of the federal constitution resulting from the so-called fat-cat initiative that was adopted. On the other, it aims to re-initiate a series of reforms that were launched in 2007, but that were put on hold shortly after to focus on the fat-cat initiative. As the consultation period closes, we consider the key proposals of the draft bill. Overall, the draft bill on the modernisation of Swiss corporate law is a vast one, covering a diverse range of issues; some pundits have called it a mammoth bill.

Anthony Dee Patricia Paz Republic Act No 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA), took effect on January 26 2003. The GPRA covers all stages of procurement of infrastructure projects, goods, and consulting services by all branches and instrumentalities of government. The GPRA establishes a two-tier protest mechanism to challenge a public procurement tender before an award. In order to exhaust this internal protest procedure, a bidder must first file a request for reconsideration with the procuring entity's Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). The BAC's denial of the request may be protested in writing to the head of the procuring entity upon payment of a non-refundable fee. The decision of the head of the procuring entity is final, such that the bidder may only avail itself of judicial review upon completion of protests and only on the ground of grave abuse of discretion. Arguably, this legal framework does not provide an expedient system for independent complaints review. Meeting the timeframes provided under the law for protest resolution is a challenge for many procuring entities, and the absence of independent and expert review undermines, to a certain degree, the legitimacy and credibility of any protest resolution.

Jay Lee of Simmons & Simmons explains why new Safe rules permitting guarantees for offshore offerings may change how the popular support mechanism is used

Smyth & Co's Jonathan Cary and Robert Rhoda explain why counterparties are resorting to alternative venues to resolve disputes under the ISDA Master Agreement

Nawir Messi, chairman of Indonesia’s Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition, spoke with IFLR about its growing role