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Enforcement places a significant strain on the finances of liable parties, and as such the legislation on enforcement should offer not only a legal basis for effective enforcement, but it should also ensure reasonable protection for the liable parties.

An employee share incentive plan (SIP) enables employees to acquire and hold shares in their employing company. They are generally implemented by employer companies in order to incentivise and retain employees (participants), and for such participants to receive indirect benefits from the appreciation in the growth of the company. Therefore, whilst such schemes are beneficial to the employee, they indirectly benefit the employer company. Employees with a vested interest in the success and performance of a company are more motivated to work, as their investment is based upon the performance of the company. SIPs can potentially lead to tax benefits for the employer company and the employee.

Iñigo de Luisa Ignacio Buil Royal Decree Law 4/2014 of March 7, on urgent measures for refinancing and restructuring corporate debt, significantly amends Spain's insolvency regulation in several key ways. One of its most relevant new provisions deals with the new regime for court-sanctioned (homologation) refinancing agreements (also known as Spanish schemes of arrangement) under the 4th Additional Provision of the Spanish Insolvency Law. The new framework is mainly aimed at improving refinancing processes in Spain. It will introduce more flexibility and new tools to enhance the deleveraging of viable Spanish companies, and facilitate pre-petition restructuring deals while preventing debtors from filing for concurso which is generally value-destructive as in more than 90% of cases results in liquidation, with very low recovery for creditors.

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

John Breslin Karole Cuddihy In a recent decision, the Irish High Court held that if an investor has paid money to a firm based on a fraudulent misrepresentation, the payer has a proprietary claim to the payment (In re Custom House Capital; Scott v Wallace 2013 IEHC 559). This is obviously crucial where a firm is in insolvent liquidation. The Irish High Court (Justice Finlay Geoghegan) held that monies held on account by Custom House Capital Limited (CHC) before its winding up were held on trust for one of its clients. The client of CHC had, between April and July 2009, transferred most of her personal savings and pension funds to CHC for investment, including a sum of €145,000 ($202,000), referred to as a deposit. The client had agreed that the latter sum would be invested by way of a subordinated loan agreement.

Panagiotis Drakopoulos Evangelos Margaritis Lately, domestic and international financial and corporate players have been looking to the Athens Exchange for safe yet high return investment opportunities in Greece and south east Europe. They are seeking to make takeover bids on securities of companies established in Greece and listed on the local exchange with significant presence in the wider region. It is common knowledge that M&As are the most transparent and efficient way to gain control of the desired target company, following a public offer on all or a part of the target's capital. However, this does not seem to be their unique advantage in the Greek legal order. The speed of their conclusion, with an average duration of two months, allows the investor to begin their business quickly and efficiently. The investor will be in a position to choose a board of his own preference within a few days of the expiry of the public offer, and to focus on what matters: building the business. The Greek legal framework on takeover bids (mainly 3461/2006 as in force – the Law) harmonises local law with the relevant EU Directive 2004/25/EC. The Law distinguishes between mandatory and voluntary offers. The former is necessary whenever an investor gains direct or indirect control of more than a third of the voting rights in a company, and as a result the control of that company. In this case, the investor is obliged, within 20 days of the acquisition, to make a public offer (mandatory bid) for the remaining shares of the company. The same obligation lies with every shareholder who holds more than a third but less than half of the voting rights of the target company, if within six months said shareholder acquires (alone or with others), securities of the target company which represent more than three percent of the voting rights. Voluntary offers can be submitted at any time, and refer not only to voting, but also to non-voting shares. The bidder can stipulate a minimum and a maximum quantity of shares that the bidder is willing to acquire.

Mak Lin Kum The Companies Bill 2013, tabled by the Companies Commission of Malaysia, proposes a new approach to the reduction of share capital, in line with developments in jurisdictions like Australia and Singapore. At present, a special resolution for the reduction of share capital requires a confirmation by the court before it can take effect. The new bill allows an alternative and a seemingly simpler process of capital reduction, whereby only a special resolution and solvency statement are required. The option of going to court to confirm a capital reduction resolution is still preserved under this new Bill. Although it may appear that this non-court approach is simpler, several reasons may be offered as to why the court approach may continue to remain popular and not be rendered obsolete.

A draft law promises to revamp the country's public-private partnership regime. Gide Loyrette Nouel's Mariam Rouissi analyses the funding opportunities that will follow

The success of IPOs often hinges on the cornerstone investors involved. But standards are slipping and the HKEx must intervene

Indonesia’s new free float requirement is intended to boost market liquidity, but regulators may be unable to enforce penalties against non-complying companies