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Macquarie Bank on Tuesday night sold 58m Macquarie Airports shares at A$1.15. That was 23% below the A$1.50 level at which the bank underwrote an issue by the company in July last year. Nevertheless, as that had already been written down to A$1.02, Macquarie Bank made a nominal book profit of A$7.5m before tax.

Mizuho Holdings is planning a record breaking preferred rights issue of up to ¥1tr, after announcing the biggest loss in Japan's corporate history. The banking group, which is Japan's largest, announced that its net loss for the fiscal year ending March 31 would be ¥1.95tr - nine times higher than its November estimates. The amount mostly relates to the group having doubled its loan loss provisioning to ¥2tr.

The mandate to arrange the Eu125m three year bullet term loan for Bank Millennium (formerly BIG Bank Gdanski) has been awarded to BayernLB. The deal will be launched into senior syndication next week. Proceeds will be used for refinancing and for general financing purposes. The borrower last tapped the market in April 2000 with a $170m three year bullet term loan. Mandated arranger was BayernLB. That facility paid a margin of 47.5bp over Libor. Moody's upgraded the borrower's long term credit rating in January from Baa1 to A3.

JAPAN Lehman Brothers has privately placed a ¥25bn securitisation of loans to small and medium sized enterprises originated in Osaka prefecture for Daiwa Bank.

Sinotrans launched its Hong Kong public offer yesterday (Thursday) in Singapore. China's largest transportation and logistics company is selling 1.55bn shares, of which 91% are new and 9% existing stock. Including an additional 15% greenshoe, the deal could raise up to $500m. The offering, lead managed by Credit Suisse First Boston and Bank of China International, will finish on February 13 when the stock will be listed.

Australia AMP Shopping Centre Trust launched a A$50m 2008 floating rate note through funding vehicle Quay 62 into a quiet market this week.

Wan Hai Lines and Quanta Display priced convertible bond issues this week and both enjoyed keen interest, predominantly from European funds. The deals also secured strong demand from Asian accounts and growing enthusaism from US buyers. Hi-Tech Computer was also in the market for $60m yesterday (Thursday) via UBS Warburg. Convertible bond specialists in Hong Kong believe that following the recent burst of new issues there will be another flurry of deals from Taiwanese issuers after the Chinese new year.

Woori Bank battled against political concerns over a conflict with North Korea and widening credit spreads to launch a ¥43bn three and five year Euroyen transaction this week. Even as the Korean bank was coming to market, reports were surfacing that North Korea had pulled out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and South Korean government officials said that it was prepared for war as a last resort.

JP Morgan is the first bank to commit to the $6.1bn multi-tranche facility for UK based confectionery and beverage firm Cadbury Schweppes. The deal backs its $4.2bn takeover of chewing gum company Adams of the US, which is being sold by Pfizer.

Rating: A (Fitch Amount: Sk800m

European Union (EU) finance ministers at last agreed a compromise solution to the withholding tax issue on Tuesday that Euromarket officials say guarantees the future of the industry. The planned directive had at one point threatened to push business out of the EU in the same way that the Euromarket was catalysed in 1963 by the implementation of withholding tax in the US.

Arrangers ANZ Investment Bank, Bank of Scotland/BankWest and National Australia Bank have launched a $287.5m fundraising for Oswal Chemical & Fertiliser Burrup ammonia plant. The facility includes a $285m 2-1/2 year construction facility. After the construction period it converts into a two tranche facility comprising a $75m five year term loan and a $195m 10 year term loan. Additionally the facility has a $17.5m contingent debt portion that will only be drawn if required to fund a $25m debt service reserve account.