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Only one issuer rated below single-A by Moody's issued a yen trade yesterday. The ¥500 million ($3.74 million) six-month note was announced by Baa3-rated Toshiba Capital (Asia). Sanwa International and BTM (Curacao) Holdings were the other Japanese-based issuers doing business, with respective ¥50.26 million three-month and ¥800 million 10-year trades. Caixa Geral de Depositos announced a ¥200 million 30-year deal via Mizuho. The Bermuda callable trade pays 10% for the first year and then is linked to the US dollar-yen exchange rate. Mizuho also led a deal for Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank. The ¥500 million note goes out to March 2012 and after a year paying 1.5% is linked to the 10-year yen swap rate minus the two-year yen swap rate, + 55 basis points. It is callable after a year and semi-annually thereafter. KfW International Finance used Commerzbank for a ¥1 billion 30-year trade. It pays 5% for a year and is then linked to the US dollar-yen exchange rate. Nordic Investment Bank went for a ¥1.4 billion note and a ¥1 billion note. Both have terms of 30 years and have initial fixed coupons of 4% and 12% respectively. Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank did a ¥500 million 20-year trade that has an initial coupon of 3.5%. Compagnie de Financement Foncier announced its second yen note in two days via Nomura. The ¥30 billion 18-month trade was the biggest of the day and pays a fixed coupon of 0.05%.

Yukos Universal yesterday (Thursday) launched a $147m accelerated sale in Yukos, its 65% owned oil subsidiary. The deal was led by UBS Warburg and Credit Suisse First Boston, and is the latest offering to take advantage of an upturn in sentiment in emerging markets. Two weeks ago Wim-Bill-Dann brought the first Russian IPO since July 2000, after seeing the Russian stock exchange rise by 52% in dollar terms in 2001.

Nigeria The details of the $1bn of project financing facilities for Nigeria LNG are being finalised and the transaction is expected to be launched to the market towards the end of March.

Bankers in continental Europe have heard early price talk for Agrokor's Eu150m-Eu200m five year Eurobond via Credit Suisse First Boston of 10.5%-11%, although one banker in Croatia said he had been sounded out by a potential co-lead of the deal at a 10% coupon level. There is also confusion as to when the deal will be launched, with two continental bankers saying it would come mid to late next week, but one in London saying he doubted launch would be before mid-March.

Australia Co-ordinating arranger JP Morgan has received an overwhelming response from the market at the sub-underwriting level for the A$850m acquisition financing for APN News & Media through Biffin Pty.

China Bankers are taking a keen interest in Petrochina's possible acquisition of Husky Energy, a Canadian integrated oil company controlled by Li Ka-shing.

Transactions increased: * Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten NV

Asia Pacific * Apollo Series 2002-1 Trust

Never let it be said that we are not sometimes slightly ahead of the news. In issue 737 of EuroWeek on January 25, we said that CSFB's John Mack was about to ring the changes in his floundering investment banking division, and that many senior heads would be used as croquet balls for Mr Mack's sumptuous country estate outside New York. And who did we name as the man most likely to take over the struggling division? We said that Mack would turn to his trusty former colleague, Walid Chammah, who would cut the CSFB investment banking prima donnas down to size and off at the knees. And what happened? Before you could say, "did Linda Robinson in John Mack's office receive our Valentine card?", there was the grand announcement that Chammah was joining CSFB as co-head of investment banking.

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro has doubled the debt limit of its Euro-MTN programme from euro5 billion ($4.35 billion) to euro10 million. The debt facility was signed in 1993 via Banca Nazionale del Lavoro and UBS Warburg. The programme has $3.6 billion outstanding off 72 trades.

BASF, the German chemicals manufacturer, has lifted the ceiling off its global CP programme from $2.3 billion to $5 billion. The programme was signed in July 1999 via Citibank. The shelf is rated P-1 by Moody's and A-1+ by Standard & Poor's.