Regulation & Legal

Sir David Walker, the man who has been tasked with improving transparency in UK private equity, has defended his independent status to the Treasury Select Committee and outlined some of the specific guidelines he intends to recommend to the industry.

Two powerful committee chairmen are backing a bill intended to scrap the low, 15 percent capital-gains tax treatment of GP carried interest in the US. The member behind the bill says the current tax regime on carry is unfair.

The past few years have seen a number of private equity-backed REIT privatizations in the US. As opportunistic investors increasingly move overseas, could the public-toprivate trend spread to the UK? By Dave Keating

After weathering the threat of low-cost production in Asia, mexico's manufacturing sector is booming amid rising domestic consumption and a growing economy—both of which are driving the Mexican logistics real estate market. By Aaron Lovell

If there is any sector that demonstrates the difficulties of operating in the Russian property market, it is probably the gaming industry. Though regulated by the government, the sector is still subject to the vagaries of Russian president Vladimir Putin. In an effort to do away with the country's ubiquitous small gaming halls, a recently introduced law says all casinos currently in operation must shut down by June 2009; going forward, casinos will only be allowed in four regional locations. Clive Tilley, the British founder of international gaming management firm Tilley Entertainment, is one of the few foreigners with experience of running a casino in Russia. Here, he discusses his plans to roll out US-style hotel casino complexes in Russia, the market's reaction to the new regulations and the difficulty of finding quality real estate for his projects.

To access the red-hot Russian real estate market, foreign private equity firms are pursuing a number of platform-building strategies, from minority stake investments to roll-up plays. But not everyone is sold on the approach. By Robin Marriott

After 25 years of investing in US real estate, the property arm of Investcorp is looking towards its next stage of growth. Here, John Fraser and Jonathan Dracos, the co-heads of the firm's real estate group, talk about opening a new office in Los Angeles, courting US investors and possibly expanding into Europe. By Aaron Lovell

Private equity real estate investors are funneling capital into Indian special economic zones. But there are significant risks that not everything will go according to plan with these controversial developments. By Dave Keating

In more than doubling the size of its last vehicle, heitman has closed an $800m fund to invest in north American value-added opportunities.

A small town in northwest Hungary may soon be home to Europe’s largest gaming complex—if Australia’s richest man, James Packer, has anything to say about it.