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In a highly unusual double for the Asian capital markets, the Republic of the Philippines and the Federation of Malaysia launched global benchmark issues within hours of each other this week.

Mexico has filed a ¥500bn ($3.8bn) shelf and renewed its dollar funding shelf, raising hopes that it will soon return to the international markets. Bankers at Japanese bond houses, however, told EuroWeek that it might be some months before the Samurai market improves enough to enable Mexico to issue in yen.

Egypt National Bank of Egypt is in the market looking for a new $250m term loan.

The Republic of Portugal this week issued its second syndicated OT of the year, a Eu2bn August 2007 benchmark, via ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Caixa Geral de Depositos and SG. Portugal's debt agency, the IGCP, took the unusual step of launching the issue simultaneously with an exchange offer out of the February 2007 OT, which added Eu332m to the issue, or 13% of the outstanding bond.

Hungarian bank OTP is preparing some Huf95bn (Eu390m) of domestic mortgage backed bonds via its new mortgage bank subsidiary this year. "We are already arranging private placements, and hope to do our first mortgage bond this quarter or next," said a banker at OTP in Budapest. "We hope to bring in institutional buyers for the first time with the public offering. We are also considering an international mortgage bond next year, although this is at a very early stage."

*Eurofima Rating: Aaa/AAA

RiskMetrics Group, the global financial analytics and technology company, has launched a suitability scale to help financial advisers and fund managers meet client expectations about how much risk and downside they are taking on. Ranging from short term plans to speculative plans, the scale is applied over the group's benchmark risk measure, RiskGrade. The suitability scale is aimed primarily at asset managers who handle funds for private investors, as well as independent financial advisers. A rising number of costly arbitrations over client risk expectations and subsequent handling has provided one good reason for developing the scale, says Michael Thompson, market strategist at RiskMetrics. "We provide a third party standard, with no conflicts," he said. Such disputes have already become headline news in the institutional arena, following the Unilever versus Merrill Lynch Asset Management case.

*Deutsche Apotheker- und Aerztebank eG Rating: A2/A

Market report Compiled by Richard Favis, RBC Capital Markets, Johannesburg

Sibneft has tapped its $250m five year bond via Citigroup for a further $150m, thanks to strong demand from non-Russian banks. The tap brings the total bond size to $400m, the largest ever corporate issue from the country. "The fact that the market remained steady above 102 after the tap showed there was good demand for more paper," said Richard Creitzman, head of corporate finance at Sibneft. "This is as big as we want to grow this particular bond.

The Kingdom of Spain made a spectacular entrance into the syndicated government bond arena this week by launching a Eu5bn 15 year bond, which is the largest European government bond to be issued beyond 10 years in a single tranche. The book for the issue was over Eu9bn, over 200 accounts put in orders, and the cash element was extraordinarily high at over 70%. The deal was run by joint bookrunners BBVA, CAI, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and SCH.