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Kartick Maheshwari, Khaitan & Co Mabel Lui, Winston & Strawn In Hong Kong, WINSTON & STRAWN hired a four-lawyer team from DLA Piper that included the firm's Asia corporate head Mabel Lui. DLA PIPER is relocating M&A partner Paul Chen from its Silicon Valley office in June to take over Lui's leadership role. Harry Prabawa from Prabawa & Hayya in Jakarta has joined HANAFIAH PONGGAWA & PARTNERS as partner. Prabawa specialises in World Trade Organisation rules and disputes and will head the firm's international trade practice group.

Antonio Felix de Araujo Cintra The Brazilian Securities Commission (the CVM) and the Brazilian Government have recently proposed and enacted some regulatory changes aimed at incentivising the entry of small and medium-sized local companies into the stock markets. These efforts are the result of a long and focused campaign by several players who believe that the development of financing alternatives for small and medium-sized companies is key for the future development of the economy in Brazil. Instruction CVM number 391, which governs the formation and organisation of private equity funds (Fundos de Investimentos em Participacoes, or FIPs), has been amended. The main change here will be an increase in investments by FIPs in companies listed in a special listing segment of the Brazilian Stock Exchange, known as Bovespa Mais, which is directed to small and medium-sized companies. The amended rule now provides that FIPs may invest up to 35% of their portfolio in companies listed in Bovespa Mais, without being subject to the general rules governing FIPs that require them to always ensure that they have an effective influence on the invested company's management.

Oene Marseille Emir Nurmansyah The Finance Ministry of Indonesia has issued a new regulation clarifying its internal procedures for selecting foreign lenders in government procurement areas. Under this new regulation, the directorate-general of debt management would invite certain pre-selected international lenders to submit proposals to fund government procurement plans. The directorate would choose the bidder who offered the lowest cost on comparable loan packages. The directorate would initiate the bidding process by sending out requests for proposals to at least five qualified foreign lenders, determined to be the most suitable creditors. These prospective lenders' outstanding loans would have to fall within a permissible limit. In this regard, the government would consider the amount of outstanding loan these creditors have extended to the government's counterparty. The government would also look at the type and origin of the goods to be procured. The prospective lender closest to the goods' location would receive priority. Finally, these prospective lenders would have to have a track record of providing commercial loans to the government.

Mark Griffiths, Norton Rose Fulbright The past four weeks have been relatively quiet across the Middle East region with one notable exception. KING & SPALDING welcomed back a familiar face, recruiting Iraqi outfit Confluent Law Group's managing partner Zaid Al-Farisi. A former counsel in the US firm's New York and Riyadh offices, Al-Farisi will join the finance practice working across the Dubai and Riyadh offices. In South Africa, NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT recruited Barclays Africa Group in-house counsel Mark Griffiths for its competition practice. CLYDE & CO has announced it will enter the market with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The confirmed team includes five lawyers from Linklaters ally Webber Wentzel, though there are plans to increase this figure prior to launch. Initially the focus of the work will be dispute resolution and insurance but there are plans to expand this practice to include trade and infrastructure.

Azleen Mohammed Saleh The central bank of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), issued an updated Capital Adequacy Framework for Islamic banks (capital components) on November 28 2012, which took effect on January 1 2013 (Framework). The Framework will be in line with the international standards on capital adequacy promulgated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the revised Basel Capital Accord. Although the Framework took effect on January 1 2013, there are certain requirements that are subject to transition arrangements, including the minimum capital adequacy requirements and the capital buffer requirements. These will only take full effect on January 1 2015 and in 2019 respectively.

Yoshihisa Watanabe The amendment to the Real Estate Specified Joint Enterprise Act (Act) took effect on December 20 2013. According to a survey conducted by the government, while the value of securitised real estate acquired in 2012 by vehicles established for a securitisation purpose (Vehicles) was estimated at approximately JPY 3.3 trillion ($32.5 billion), the value of the assets acquired by Vehicles established under the Act was only JPY 0.16 trillion (4.8%). This compares to JPY 1.55 trillion for Japanese real-estate investment trusts (Jreits) plus other major tax-efficient structures known to overseas investors such as the GK-TK, GK-YK structure and the like (JPY 1 trillion) and TMK structure (approximately JPY 0.64 trillion). Based on these numbers, it is obvious that Vehicles under the Act have not been widely used so far. It had been considered that the major reason for this was the Act's permission system and the strict requirements for obtaining permission from the government (for example, a Vehicle had to have a licence under the Building Lots and Building Transaction Business Act and the capital amount of a Vehicle had to be JPY 100 million or more). Practically speaking, only major real-estate companies could be Vehicles under the Act. However, this meant that investors in Vehicles under the Act suffered from the business risks that arose from other businesses that were conducted by such companies. As a result, investors, especially overseas investors, tended to refrain from investing in Vehicles under the Act. However, nowadays Japan faces an increase in dilapidated buildings, particularly in rural areas, and enhanced earthquake safety is required in relation to old buildings. To introduce more funds from overseas and the domestic private sector for the rehabilitation and renovation of such buildings, it came to be believed that the easing of the requirements of the Act was needed. The major point of the current amendment to the Act is to replace the permission system with a notification system and, under a given set of conditions, allow special purpose vehicles (sole purpose companies) which are assured of bankruptcy remoteness, to be Vehicles under the Act. It is expected that investment from overseas and the domestic private sector in the rehabilitation and renovation of buildings will, as a result, be stimulated. Yoshihisa Watanabe

Borys D Sawicki The relative positions of bank and borrower are not equal. Typically, the bank enjoys a privileged position, being entitled to unilaterally affecting the legal relationship created by a loan agreement by terminating it in the event of a termination prerequisite. Under the applicable provisions of the Polish Banking Law, if the borrower fails to comply with the conditions of granting the loan or loses their creditworthiness, the bank may reduce the amount of the loan or terminate the loan agreement. However, it would seem reasonable to require banks not to stick to the literal wording of the above-mentioned provision of the Banking Law, but rather look at the purpose of the regulation, which serves as a tool for the safe management of credit risk, allowing for the maintenance of the bank's financial liquidity.

Anna Cristina Valdes In 2010, the Republic of Panama added to its Tax Code a new chapter regarding the adequacy of double tax conventions for the avoidance of double taxation. The arm's length principle was defined, as well as the term related parties, and the scope of application of transfer pricing in the Republic of Panama. Operations realised by Panamanian tax-payers with related parties will be valued according to the arm's length principle. In other words, ordinary as well as extraordinary income, costs and necessary deductions to realise operations should be determined based on the price and amount agreed by independent parties under similar circumstances.

Soonghee Lee In Korea, most securities, except for electronic short-term bonds, are issued in paper form and managed through a central deposit. As of January 2014, however, 31 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and China have adopted an electronic securities system, whereby securities are not issued in paper form and registration in an electronic registry is performed instead. Under this electronic securities system, the rights of securities holders are recognised, and the transfer, establishment of security over and exercise of rights are performed. The adoption of the electronic securities system allows cost savings compared with the issuance of securities in paper form, and it also removes risk factors resulting from the custody and management of securities in paper form. Further, through the foreclosure, in principle, of tax evasion, money laundering and other illicit transactions, the adoption of the electronic securities system is expected to result in the adoption of real-name securities transaction and holding systems; it is also expected to contribute considerably to investor protection and the formation of a fair trading order through prompt provision of information on the issuance and circulation of securities. As such, the National Assembly of Korea is discussing legislation for the adoption of an electronic securities system in order to improve capital market efficiency by facilitating the issuance and circulation of, and exercise of rights with respect to, electronic securities.

Laura Widmer Until recently, Switzerland's regime for social plans was rather liberal. No obligation to conclude a social plan existed unless one was foreseen in a collective employment agreement. If companies offered severance payments or other benefits in case of redundancies, they usually did so on a purely voluntary and fully discretionary basis. Since January 2014, the amended Swiss restructuring law has been in force and the situation has changed. As a compensatory measure for loosening the legal requirements for the transfer of insolvent businesses, the new rules introduced a duty to implement a social plan in case of mass dismissals. Employers are now required to negotiate a social plan if the criteria summarised below are met.