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The first Dutch RMBS of the year brought a new issuer to the market when NIB Capital this week launched SwAFE I BV, an Eu800m securitisation of Dutch residential mortgages originated by Zwitserse Maatschappij van Levensverzekering en Lijfrente (Zwitserleven), a branch of Swiss Life Europe. Two tranches of notes were publicly issued and two were sold privately, totalling Eu800m. A triple-A piece worth Eu570m, with an average life of 4.9 years and a legal maturity of February 2032, was priced at 24bp over three month Euribor.

The Big Food Group (BFG), the food retailer and wholesaler formerly called Iceland, has announced a £375m three year recovery plan that includes a sale and leaseback of its property portfolio. Bankers suggest that the sale could raise around £250m to help reduce over £430m of debt. Plans also include the company's first venture into the capital markets - a corporate bond issue that will be prepared by Barclays Capital and UBS Warburg.

A shift in the corporate landscape of the UK pub sector is expected as a consortium involving Enterprise Inns takes on Punch Taverns to compete for the acquisition of Nomura's pub estates Unique and Voyager, worth an estimated £2.2bn. The sale, which follows Nomura's disposal of its Inn Partnership franchise to Pubmaster in February for a reported £523m, continues a second flurry of investment in the pub sector as the first wave of private equity funds try to monetise their original stakes.

Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH), Spain's biggest bank, this week brought a securitisation of performing residential mortgages worth Eu917m. Lead managed by Morgan Stanley and BSCH, the deal was launched the week after competitive bidding, and was priced in line with the bid offer reported by bankers of around 22bp.

Merrill Lynch will today (Friday) price the first issue from the $3bn mortgage securitisation programme it established for the Hong Kong Mortgage Corp in December. HKMC is a Hong Kong government agency that buys residential mortgages from banks to promote a secondary mortgage market.

The Korean ABS market might be only in its infancy, but its growth has been spectacular, already far eclipsing the volumes in the Japanese and Australian domestic markets. Mark B Johnson looks ahead to a year in which more asset classes will emerge and more deals will migrate offshore.

With the Korean investor base clamouring for yield through offshore Korean bonds, some domestic borrowers have looked to the international currency markets. Last year two Korean issuers launched fixed rate dollar bond transactions, targeting them at their domestic investor base.

Korea was a critical market for equity deals in 2001, as new issuance volumes throughout Asia slumped. The government completed several landmark privatisation transactions, and the year ahead looks promising. The new issuance landscape will feature state and private sector bank offerings, as well as several large corporate deals linked to the nationwide restructuring efforts. Mark B Johnson reports.

Over the past year a succession of new or rare Korean credits have graced the international markets, underlining the hope that Korea will cement its role as a high profile source of high quality borrowers in the Asian debt markets. Observers believe that corporates can take advantage of this year's economic rebound to diversify their funding, using the international bond market to raise financing. But officials warn that the liquidity of domestic demand and a continued oversupply in many industries leaves little incentive for Korean issuers to look offshore. Richard Morrow reports on the market expectations for the Korean international bond market.

Over the past year, the Republic of Korea has weathered the economic slowdown and achieved a high degree of success with its restructuring programme. And with a positive economic outlook, the country is much closer to solving its remaining corporate and financial difficulties.