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PCCW's rehabilitation in the capital markets continues apace. Hot on the heels of a smartly placed yen private placement and a pricey but well-executed yankee late last year comes a strong convertible bond led by a bank that some assumed the issuer wasn't even talking to anymore. On January 24 Morgan Stanley completed the sale of a US$450 million convertible, upsized from its original target, for the Hong Kong-based telco. Bankers and investors had been speculating for weeks before Christmas that a euro or sterling bond was on the way, but very few people seemed to predict the deal that did appear. It is not exactly a landmark in the company's financial restructuring – that came with the deals late last year that pushed the company below a 3.5 times debt to EDITDA trigger, which as a covenant of an earlier loan, allows it to divided up to 75% of the profits from the HKTC subsidiary to the parent company at the March year-end. But it reduces interest payments considerably in refinancing part of the loan, as the bond has just a 1% coupon. The five-year tenor extends PCCW's debt maturity slightly.

A number of offerings from Taiwan, mostly convertible bond issues, flooded into the capital markets in the first month of 2002. Issuers in the electronics and technology sectors, eager for funds to meet their capital expenditure and technology upgrade needs, dominated the deals. "Last year, many Taiwan companies shelved their capital raising plans due to weak market conditions. But despite poor markets in other areas, the convertible bond markets remained open through 2001 for financing," explains Tse-Ern Chia, director of Asian convertible research at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. "What really caught the attention of Taiwan technology companies was the success of the UMC convertible bond deal completed in November 2001. That transaction highlighted the strength of the convertible primary market. Subsequently, we saw nine Taiwan technology companies file to issue Euroconvertible bonds in December 2001."

Despite the attention focused on China this year, another country dominated the region's primary debt markets for the first month of 2002: the Philippines. A successful US$750 million global bond from the sovereign was followed by a US$250 million issue from the central bank and a US$100 million eurobond from JG Summit. There was controversy, too: a deal of US$500 million for the National Power Corporation (Napocor), with the potential to undermine much of the newfound positive sentiment towards the country, was about to price as Asiamoney went to press. Why the rush? The first deal, for the Republic of the Philippines, was the key, with others able to mop up unsatisfied demand in its slipstream. But the Republic's deal was by no means a guaranteed success, given the sovereign's checkered history in the debt markets over the years. This time, however, the Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston-led deal went well, establishing a useful benchmark and meeting much of the country's budget needs for the year.

When Indonesia announced plans to devolve power to its regions two years ago, the new province of Bangka-Belitung looked as though it would become rich. Not only was the small group of islands just off the coast of Sumatra one of the world's biggest pepper producers, it was also home to the world's largest tin mining company, PT Timah, one of Indonesia's privatization success stories of the 1990s. Profitable and well managed, Timah sailed through the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Then local leaders passed a regulation allowing the export of tin concentrate, previously banned. Almost overnight more than 6,000 illegal miners arrived at the minesite and started digging. Brokers carried off the ore, local security failed to act and soon the world tin market was reeling under excess supply as the miners extracted 18,000 tonnes in six months, almost half of Timah's annual production.

Most people were glad to see the back of 2001, but there were highlights amid the gloom. In issuance terms it was the reverse of 2000: plenty of impressive bond issuance but a dearth of new equity. Our deals of the year for 2001 were those that battled volatile market conditions and still produced successful, innovative transactions. By Chris Wright and Fiona Haddock.

The recent death of Harshad Mehta (aged 47), the key figure in the 1992 US$1.3 billion securities scam in India, has been described as the end of an era. But like all colourful characters he has left a colourful legacy: an unsolved mystery of 2.7 million missing shares in Indian companies and 72 cases of conspiracy, forgery, cheating and misappropriation of funds. Despite his passing away, the country's most flamboyant investor retains the dubious accolade of heading the list of the country's bank defaulters with a figure of Rs8.1 billion (around US$168 million) – a position he had occupied for almost a decade. Being hailed as a financial wizard and trusted by hundreds of players in financial markets was quite an achievement for a man who barely scraped through his Bachelor of Commerce with just 36%. Nonetheless, he became the country's investor guru (especially among the wealthy Gujarati community), flaunting a flashy lifestyle that included a penchant for expensive cars, the indiscriminate offering of investment advice, and hobnobbing with the rich and powerful.

Executive Access takes the number one spot once again in the Asiamoney headhunters poll, but in the individual stakes Eban's Stephen McAlinden steals this year's crown. Our respondents give their candid opinions on the best, and the worst, recruitment specialists in the business. By Matthew Montagu-Pollock.

Just as Singapore dominates our deals of the year, our issuer of the year category came down to a choice between two Singaporean and one Hong Kong company. SingTel takes the title from DBS and Hutch not for the range of its activity but for its transformation from a name suffering from its government connections, to the region's benchmark borrower. By Chris Wright.

Have a guess at the top bookrunner on Asian bonds last year. Goldman Sachs? Morgan Stanley? JPMorgan? No – the leader by volume was LG Investment. The growth of the local debt capital markets has pushed domestic houses up the rankings – and in an economic downturn that's not going to change. By Joy Lee.

The international financial community is still digesting news of the discredit of China's most prominent banker, Wang Xuebing. Asiamoney spoke with him in November, in what we believe was his last interview with the western media before his fall from grace.

Executive Access takes the number one spot once again in the Asiamoney headhunters poll, but in the individual stakes Eban's Stephen McAlinden steals this year's crown. Our respondents give their candid opinions on the best, and the worst, recruitment specialists in the business.

It's easy to transcribe an interview with Allan Moss. The CEO of Macquarie Bank speaks with such considered deliberation, the words come out at a slow typing pace. Moss doesn't say "doesn't" or "wouldn't": the abbreviation would be too pacey, too spontaneous. Instead the sentences come out grammatically perfect, rhythmically balanced, in full. In fact Moss doesn't seem a lot like a CEO. Friendly and slightly awkward, he shows none of the hyperactivity one often finds in senior management at investment banks. But he has clearly been doing something right during his eight years as CEO, because Macquarie is a remarkable success story.