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Banji Adenusi As a form of financial derivative involving the sale of securities, repos are central to the provision of liquidity in the financing and trading of treasury securities. The Nigerian repo market, however, remains largely dominated by the money and interbank markets as the main liquidity providers. With their global attractiveness, the primary concerns in Nigeria relate to the validity, enforceability of netting provisions, transfer of title and recharacterisation of repos. Bearing in mind that repos can sometimes be said to operate in a manner similar to secured credit transactions, perhaps these concerns are worth highlighting. In Nigeria, the laws applicable to derivatives are equally applicable to repos (section 315 of the Investment and Securities Act), while securities lending appears to be a generic term encompassing a host of transactions including repos. The approach favoured by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to interpret all types of dealings involving securities as falling within the ambit of section 315. The validity of these transactions is guaranteed, further taking into consideration their non-classification as unlawful gaming contracts.

Jose Luis Sosa In recent years, there have been an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions involving Panamanian bank branches and subsidiaries. This M&A activity has resulted in an increase of regional conglomerates consolidated in Panama that include banks as part of their business holdings. As a result, and in an effort to safeguard the Panamanian financial system from extraneous risk, and beyond its regulatory purview, the Panamanian Superintendence of Banks recently issued Resolution 007-2014 (Resolution 007), which will enter into force on January 1 2015. This extends regulatory oversight to all entities of a single corporate group that includes banks and that are consolidated in Panama, even beyond Panama's borders.

In late October, the Slovak Parliament adopted a comprehensive amendment to the income tax act, introducing changes in direct taxation that will come into force on January 1 2015. Here, we are provide a brief summary of the key changes introduced in the amendment that affect businesses.

Rose Marie M King-Dominguez Melyjane G Bertillo-Ancheta The 2015 economic forecast for the Philippines is mixed. The outlook is no doubt the result of the many challenges the country has had to face in the past year. From natural disasters, including Typhoon Yolanda, to man-made calamities, such as worsening traffic jams and port congestion, the Philippines has not had an easy time. But despite these setbacks, the country's growth prospects are generally positive, and its credit ratings have been upgraded to investment grade status. Government and policy-makers can do a lot to keep economic indicators in the black, by re-focusing on improving the transparency and stability of rules, and getting regulators to modernise their perspectives.

Supasit Boonsanong Prisna Sungwanna There are at least 17 laws and policies in Thailand which prescribe ceilings on foreign ownership in various businesses. Two of broad importance are the Land Code regarding the ownership of land (ceiling of 49%), and the Foreign Business Operation Act (FBOA) regarding the ownership of 43 categories of businesses (ceiling less than 50%). There are exceptions under certain free trade agreements (US, Japan and Australia), the Investment Promotion Act, and discretionary business licences issued by the Department of Business Development under the FBOA.

Ignacio Buil Aldana José Luis Lucena Spanish debt is in the spotlight, and it will continue to be for a while – no market player questions this. However, one preoccupation remains: can equity be crammed-down under Spanish insolvency law? Unfortunately, the answer for the moment is no. Existing regulations do not provide lenders with tools to forcefully cram down the equity in those cases where the latter has no interest. In fact, Spanish debt-for-equity swaps need the consent of shareholders at all times.

France's stock market watchdog has confirmed that it will not implement regulations on high frequency trading (HFT) that would clash with Europe-wide rules.

Bank of China's RMB 39.94 billion ($6.5 billion) additional tier 1 (AT1) offering proved the depth of Asia's capital markets. The bank's innovative structure has also set a precedent for the rest of the industry.

The Capital Markets Law 6362 (CML) was adopted on December 30 2013. Since then, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB) has been revising and updating the relevant secondary legislation in line with the CML, and the demands, practices and necessities in the capital markets. Within this framework, the CMB has issued and changed major communiques governing capital markets activities, one of which is the enactment of Communiqué III/37.1 on the Principles of Investment Services and Ancillary Services (Communique). The Communique clarifies rules and principles applicable to different types of investment services that can be conducted by licensed intermediary institutions and, contrary to previous legislation, it regulates over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions as licensed activities. Having said that, an exception is provided for activities of foreign financial institutions which are conducted on a reverse enquiry basis.

Countries across the Asia Pacific are trying to manage domestic companies' foreign currency exposure. It's prompted not only by rumours that the US is considering ending quantitative easing, but also the European Central Bank's plans to embark on a similar bond buying programme.