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Telmex issued Latin America's biggest ever plain vanilla corporate bond this week with its debut $1bn five year transaction. The 144a deal, led by JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, attracted more than $1.5bn of orders after being priced attractively at 350bp over Treasuries, 15bp wider than the UMS 2006 global bond.

France Télécom announced this week a Eu55bn-Eu65bn valuation for its mobile unit, Orange, sparking a debate as to whether the figure represented a discount or a premium to competitor Vodafone. Investors have shown widespread appreciation of Orange's business model, but also voiced concern that the telecoms sector has further to fall. "People love the company," said a banker on the syndicate. "It is just a question of the sector as a whole. The price was received positively," he added. But some investors see Orange's offer as representing a premium to the company's most prominent comparable Vodafone. "How can they justify paying a premium to market leader Vodafone?" asked another banker in the syndicate. A third explained that on the most common valuation, the price range offered a discount.

Gazprom astounded the international capital markets this week by mandating Credit Suisse First Boston and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney for a Eurobond, touted for launch in early March. This would make the world’s biggest gas producer the first Russian Eurobond issuer since the 1998 crisis, preceding the sovereign. It would also be Gazprom’s inaugural approach to the international bond markets.

General Motors Acceptance Corp (GMAC) did a Sfr750 million ($ 456.15 million) public trade yesterday having avoided the currency for almost 16 months. Credit Suisse First Boston managed the four-year deal, the first time the bank has done a trade for GMAC since April 1998. The note pays a final coupon of 4%. And General Electric Capital Corp has issued its sixth Czech koruna note in three months. The one-year kr1 billion ($26.66 million) note pays a final coupon of 5.5%.

The entire US financial market watched with bated breath as Fed chairman Alan Greenspan briefed Congress yesterday (Thursday). At first the markets sold off sharply as Greenspan appeared to embrace the idea of tax cuts, a policy for which he has demonstrated only lukewarm enthusiasm in the past.

ndia The $100m five year term loan for Industrial Development Bank of India was signed on January 19.

Kerr McGee has set up a Euro-CP programme to replace its now cancelled $150 million facility. The replacement programme has a debt ceiling of $400 million and Citibank is the arranger. Citibank, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank are the dealers. The issuer, rated A-2/P-2, makes industrial chemicals and produces oil and gas.

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) looks set to break with its long held flexible approach to the market by announcing a benchmark funding programme of at least Eu10bn next Wednesday when it outlines its funding plans for the year. The German development bank is expected to establish a programme similar to the European Investment Bank's EARNs and Freddie Mac's EuReference Notes, committing itself to two global issues of Eu5bn during 2001. A debut 10 year issue is likely in March after roadshows and a five year transaction later in the year.

Kommunalbanken has increased the debt ceiling off its debt instrument programme from euro2 billion ($1.88 billion) to euro4 billion. IBJ International has been dropped as a dealer. HypoVereinsbank, Mizuho and Merrill Lynch have been added to the dealer panel.

Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg has added ING Barings as a dealer to its euro20 billion ($18.79 billion) Euro-CP and Euro-CD programme. The update was completed on January 2.

After intense speculation, the full details of the Eu765m buy-out of Lafarge Speciality Building Products from Lafarge SA are in the market. The buy-out is backed by Eu640m of financing divided into Eu540m senior debt facilities and Eu100m senior subordinated debt.