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General Property Trust (GPT) embarked on a roadshow for a A$250m-A$300m bond issue this week, continuing the trend of property trust borrowers accessing a relatively cautious Australian bond market. The A+ rated issuer is aiming to launch a transaction with a maturity of five to seven years. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) was sole arranger for the roadshow, and is likely to be sole lead for the deal.

International Business Machines (IBM) became the first borrower of the year to successfully access the Samurai market this week. The US corporate overcame negative sentiment towards offshore borrowers to launch a ¥26bn three year transaction. Nomura and Daiwa SMBC were joint bookrunners, with Credit Suisse First Boston, Merrill Lynch, Mizuho Securities, Nikko Salomon Smith Barney and Tokyo Mitsubishi Securities as co-managers.

PT Medco Energi is set to be the first Indonesian corporate to return to the international bond market since 1997. The oil company this week began a roadshow for a $150m five year Reg S issue - a transaction that will offer investors a rare opportunity to gain exposure to the republic, which has laboured under economic problems since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Denmark Sole mandated arranger LB Kiel has launched the Eu50m five year facility for Forstaedernes Bank into general syndication.

Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF), the French rail operator, has mandated Barclays Capital and UBS Warburg to lead-manage a benchmark sterling deal off its euro7 billion ($6.09 billion) Euro-MTN programme. Reuters reports that the trade will go out between 20 and 30 years. An official at UBS Warburg said that the size and structure of the deal would be confirmed after the issuer finishes its investor roadshow in two weeks. The announcement comes a week after Reseau Ferre de France, another French rail company, closed a 50-year £

Stadtsparkasse Köln this week launched its inaugural Pfandbrief issue, a Eu100m three year transaction that is the first ever Pfandbrief from a German savings bank. The Sparkassen are to diversify their funding sources following the EC ruling that means the government support mechanisms of Anstaltslast and Gewährträgerhaftung will not apply to Landesbank or Sparkassen issuance from 2005.

Mizuho (Fuji) has relaunched syndication of the Skr5.6bn financing package backing the buy-out of Sweden's Electrolux's leisure appliances business by private equity firm Northern Equity. The business has been rebranded Domestic Appliances.

The Kingdom of Spain is poised to issue its first syndicated government bond, a 15 year transaction, to be led by BBVA, BSCH, CAI, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan - banks named by the kingdom as the most dynamic primary dealers in the Spanish debt market. Launch is planned for the week of March 4, following a roadshow, which so far is scheduled to visit the UK, Holland and Italy, with the possible addition of France.

* Bank Austria AG Rating: Aa3/AA (Moody's/Fitch)

* Réseau Ferré de France Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

* Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale Rating: Aaa/AAA