BELGIUM PLANS TO OUTLAW INSIDER TRADING A Belgian finance ministry spokesman said new rules planned on insider trading would enable offenders to be fined and imprisoned for up to a year, and be compelled to forfeit gains. The new rules require parliamentary approval, and government sources said it was unclear when they would come into force. Insider trading is currently not an offence in this country. The cabinet approved a separate bill that analysts said includes provisions to make more difficult the build-up of major new stakes in Belgian companies. The bill would make obligatory the declaration of major stakes in companies quoted on the bourse with own resources of more than 200 mln francs. The Minister for Economic Affairs would need to be informed in advance of deals under which foreign interests planned to buy a new stake of more than ten pct of the voting shares in a large Belgian company, or to increase an existing stake to more than 20 pct.