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New Zealand The NZ$420m financing for Independent Newspaper, arranged by National Bank of New Zealand, is said to be moving smoothly with a strong response from the market.

It has been Royal Ascot Week as well as the Euromoney annual jamboree in London for borrowers and investors. Which event was socially the most important? We will not be drawn into any argument which might ruffle the sensitivities of our chairman - suffice to say that the standards of behaviour among the Euromoney delegates were far superior to those of the Ascot race-goers. But this is, after all, the summer party season. Many of the ladies at Ascot looked stunning in their finery and we always ask ourselves why hats are not worn on more occasions other than Royal Ascot, weddings and funerals. Ladies' hats do not cover up. Instead, the right choice can accentuate beauty, highlight good bone structure and soften profiles. We are also not being in the slightest way anti-feminist when we say that ladies walk with much more gracious poise when they are expensively hatted.

Hungary Bidding banks are waiting for the City of Budapest to award a mandate for its Eu100m EIB guaranteed facility.

Export Development Corp has issued a ¥600 million ($4.97 million) note that matures in July 2016. It pays interest semi-annually and has a final coupon of 1.7%. The issuer has used three currencies this year: yen, euro and US dollar. US dollar accounts for almost 90% of its trading volume in 2001.

Electricite de France has raised the limit off its programme for the issuance of debt instruments to $5 billion from $3 billion.

French state owned Entreprise Minière et Chimique (EMC) this week awarded JP Morgan and Natexis Banques Populaires the mandate to arrange a Eu1.5bn EuroMTN programme. The banks said the programme will be signed next week and that an inaugural transaction off the programme will follow soon after.

Enterprise Inns, the UK pubs owner, will partially finance the £260m acquisition of 432 pubs from Scottish & Newcastle with a £66m one for six rights issue. HSBC and Deutsche Bank will lead the deal, which was announced on Monday and will be wrapped up soon after shareholders approve the acquisition on July 4. The shares will be offered at 490p, a discount of 19% to the share price at the launch of the offer.

Hungary * Republic of Hungary

Erste Bank has done three yen trades, taking its total of yen trades this year to 14. Two of the notes mature in three months time and are for the amounts of ¥5.17 billion ($42.27 million) and ¥5.11 billion. The other matures in December 2006 and is for ¥1 billion. The issuer has issued only two yen notes for the same amounts. The majority have been issued at amounts varying between ¥5.08 billion and ¥5.22 billion.

Zentaris, the German cancer research company, was forced to indefinitely postpone its Eu200m IPO this week, at the same time as Ethypharm was trying to brighten up the biotech market with the launch of its own IPO. Zentaris, which was due to be spun out of German chemicals group Degussa, was expected to price its IPO last Monday. However, the deal was hit by bad news coming from Praecis Pharmaceuticals, a US-based comparable for Zentaris. Praecis's shares fell 44% on the news that its application for Plenaxis, a hormonal treatment for prostrate cancer, had been rejected because of inadequate information.

Euronext, the first European cross-border stock exchange, launched its eagerly anticipated Eu780m IPO on Wednesday, into a torrid market. The price range of Eu24-Eu27.5 gives the company a total valuation of between Eu2.8bn-Eu3.1bn. This, on the basis of 2001 p/e ratios, values Euronext at a 21%-31% discount to its rivals in the market. The closest comparables to Euronext are the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Börse. According to a banker close to the deal, the discount was based on the feedback the company received from investors during roadshows.