Search results for

Russian investment bank United Financial Group has established an equity derivatives group within its structured products department and hired Vadim Hilliard to head it. Hilliard joins from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein London, where he worked for three years, most recently as a vice president, trading equity OTC derivatives trading.

Commentary

Rating: Aaa/AAA Amount: $150m (fungible with two issues totalling $800m launched 9/11/01 and 06/03/02

ING and Fortis have signed banks into the Eu128m term loan for privately owned fruit juice and beverage company Refresco Holding. They are BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, LBLux, NIB Capital and SG.

Germany German reinsurance company Hannover Re this week confirmed that it was examining the possibility of issuing a Eu250m-Eu350m mandatory convertible bond early next year.

Bahrain The Kingdom of Bahrain plans to issue $500m of 10 year global bonds to finance investment projects, according to the state's official news agency. The news follows a previous announcement that Bahrain would issue Islamic bonds worth up to $670m in 2003. The agency gave no clue as to the timing of the bond, although bankers do not expect it before the end of this year.

The general syndication of $800m of international debt facilities for the $1bn Nigeria LNG project looks set for a decent conclusion by the scheduled close of November 8. The market has been offered two tickets: senior co-arrangers with $44m and co-arrangers taking $22m.

Rating: A3/A- Amount: £250m lower tier two capital

The Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia came to the EuroMTN market with a Eu10bn debt issuance programme this Wednesday, jointly arranged by Citigroup/SSSB and WestLB. The borrower is hoping that the facility will help it to take advantage of the pending removal of the German Landesbanks' state guarantees. "We have been thinking of signing this programme for some time," said Eckard Helmz, treasurer at NRW. "But we now believe that the time is right. The Landesbanks play an important role in the Asian markets and are very active issuers there, but they will find it tougher to issue without their state guarantees. I feel that there is now room for us in that market."

Guarantor: Parmalat SpA Rating: BBB-

Parmalat revised its plans to tap the bond markets this week, launching a Eu150m two year issue rather than its planned Eu500m five year bond, showing that although sentiment towards corporates has improved, conditions remain difficult for those borrowers hoping to access the market. The company had originally hoped to launch the larger and longer dated deal via Citigroup/SSSB, Credit Suisse First Boston and Unicredit Banca Mobiliare (UBM) at the end of September. That issue was first talked at 180bp over mid-swaps, but was widened to 230bp-235bp before the triple-B rated Italian food producer felt the market had become too expensive. The company had also considered tapping an outstanding 2007 bond.

Amount: A$750m Rating: Moody's/S&P