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On July 8 1999, Telecom Eireann, later to become eircom, floated on the stock exchanges in Dublin, London and New York. The Eu4.4bn IPO attracted more attention than any Irish equity issue before or since. Enthusiasm for telecoms stocks was spreading like wildfire across Europe, and in Ireland equity investment was just beginning to capture the imagination of the public. Of the adult population of Ireland, 43% registered interest in buying eircom shares, and more than 20% went on to buy stock. Minister for public enterprise, Mary O'Rourke, was anxious to ensure that there were enough shares to satisfy the retail interest, and so a huge 55% of the issue was allocated to private investors.

Rheinhyp has increased its euro10 billion ($9.1 billion) note programme to euro15 billion. There is $8.99 billion outstanding off 83 issues. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter was the most active dealer for the issuer in the private market in 2000, bringing $434.21 million-worth of debt for Rheinhyp. The German bank's programme is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA- by Standard & Poor's.

Denmark LB Kiel has closed the Eu65m multicurrency financing for Danish bank Amtssparkassen Fyn. The borrower proved popular in syndication and the facility was increased from Eu50m.

SG has been keeping busy with a number of trades in yen and euro, and one each in US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Singapore dollar. These latter two markets are used excessively by the French bank, and Sylvie Molas, medium and long-term funding at the issuer, says: "We use these markets on an opportunistic basis. It's not necessarily that we have a preference for placing paper there, but we have very strong teams working for SG in Asia." The trades are very short-dated, maturing in February next year, and are each structured on an equity-linked basis. Over 40% of SG's funding has been in Hong Kong dollar this year.

Market report Compiled by Vusi Mhlanzi

France Telecom has once again found refuge in the private yen market. It launched a ¥15 billion one-year trade via Salomon Smith Barney, which pays Yen Libor + 20bps on a quarterly basis. The maturity date is December 21 2001. Over 75% of the issuer's funding in the private market has been denominated in yen this year. It has raised $650 million-worth in yen off 8 private trades.

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

The Swedish telecoms regulator, Post- & Telestyrelsen, will decide on the winners of the UMTS beauty contest in the next few days. The authority will award four licences from among 10 bidders. Each of the bidders has a standby loan facility in place. But at a time when telecoms lending is under intense scrutiny it seems that some of the banks would rather be backing the losers.

* Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Warning noises are being increasingly heard from financial regulators over the levels of exposure of banks within the telecoms sector. Within the past week, two UK bodies with regulatory duties- the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Bank of England - have issued statements highlighting their anxieties over the level of lending by the markets to telecoms firms.

CONTENTS OF ABC OF EMYOU: ? The Euro-MTN in perspective -- To predict the future size and shape of the Euro-MTN market post-Emu means taking a look at its foundations. Niamh Reynolds talks to market veterans to trace the product's development from its birth to itsemergence as a key fixed income product in Euroland. ? So what happens now for market players -- A sponsored statement from Merrill Lynch. ? Euro-friendly borrowers plan their way through Emu -- A virtual roundtable discussion, chaired by Katherin Morton, highlights the issues facing borrowers and originators in the new euro regime. ? IPAs battle it out to be the best -- Consolidation in the banking industry has left the number of Issuing and Paying Agents (IPAs) at a minimum. The race is on for them to differentiate themselves in a Europe without domestic barriers. The best IPA will be one which can establish itself as the global alternative to domestic paying agencies used to working with domestic clearing systems. Niamh Reynolds talks to top houses. ? Arrangers debate the letter of the law for Euro-MTNs -- Does the Europe of 1999 mean that market participants will speak the same language when it comes to documentation? Georgina Dow talks to some backroom boys and discovers that though Euroland may have one currency, it is a long way from having a single legal framework. *** For more information about this supplement, or if you wish to advertise in MTNWeek's next supplement, please contact Francoise Lavergne on +44 7440 6436. ***