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The Isle of Capri Black Hawk has secured a $90 million credit facility with CIBC World Markets to refinance $75 million in mortgage notes due in 2004, allowing the company to obtain a much cheaper form of financing. "Black Hawk wanted to pay off the notes because of the very low rates, getting cheaper capital with a more flexible structure," said Rex Yeisley, senior v.p., and cfo."CIBC is leading because of relationship, price and credibility--we believed they could get it done," he added. CIBC is the senior lender to Isle of Capri and so amid other alternatives, it seemed right, Yeisley stated. Isle of Capri owns 57% of the venture and Nevada Gold & Casinos owns the rest. Funding of the facility is contingent on Black Hawk granting a security interest to CIBC.

Investors have applauded the region's most stable companies in our 10th Best-Managed Companies poll. Where once telcos dominated, now we see raw materials, department stores and shopping mall operators at the top of the tree. By Olivia Chow and Robert Law.

For all its economic successes, few would suggest that Malaysia has been a champion of transparency and corporate governance in recent years. But half a year on from Daim Zainuddin's departure, there are signs of something different at Renong and other Malaysian corporates. Is this real change? Matthew Montagu-Pollock, normally our resident cynic on such things, believes so.

For all its economic successes, few would suggest that Malaysia has been a champion of transparency and corporate governance in recent years. But half a year on from Daim Zainuddin's departure, there are signs of something different at Renong and other Malaysian corporates. Is this real change? Matthew Montagu-Pollock, normally our resident cynic on such things, believes so.

Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) completed a US$457.9 million IPO in mid-December in an extremely positive sign for the equity markets in Asia – and China in particular. The issue, led by Morgan Stanley and CICC, traded up about 4% in New York on its first day of pricing, a modest rise that the leads and issuer felt was ideal. (Its flat first-day performance in Hong Kong was less impressive.) It was unclear as Asiamoney went to press whether a greenshoe would be exercised.

An interesting trade in early November resolved DBS's capital ratio concerns and put Deutsche back in to the equity league tables after a long, arduous absence. On November 6 DBS placed S$2.2 billion (US$1.2 billion) in shares through two distinct tranches. Half of the total came in private placements to two major California-based investors, Brandes Investment Partners and Capital Group International, while the other half was sold in an accelerated bookbuild at a price of S$9.60 – a 4.95% to the November 2 close of S$10.10.

The move was hardly noticed except by the local business media. With China's entry to the World Trade Organization and the battle in Afghanistan dominating headlines, Taiwan's issuance of the first interest-rate swap (IRS) licence to a domestic securities house barely rated a mention in the regional financial press. But to the global and domestic financial institutions hit by the move, the licence given to Grand Cathay, the leading underwriter of NT$ corporate and supranational bonds since 1992, last month was a deafening shout. The door has now been thrown wide open to an industry worth an estimated NT$300 billion a year and which is projected to grow at the rate of 15% a year over the next five years. IRS business had been restricted to banks (domestic banks can conduct inter-bank IRS without a specific licence) and foreign institutions.

The launch in early December of a US$125 million floating rate note by Indonesia's Bank Mandiri signals the first effort by an Indonesian issuer to test the waters in the debt market since the default by Asia Pulp and Paper last year, owing more than $13 billion. Managed by HSBC, the FRN was targeted mainly at Asian investors and rated B- by Standard &Poor's, two grades over the Indonesian sovereign. Bank Mandiri is by far the largest bank in the country, set up in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis as a vehicle to amalgamate four ailing state banks. The notes were priced at 99.735% of their face value with a spread of 6-month US dollar Libor plus 590bp to give a yield to maturity of US dollar Libor plus 600bp. The issue was oversubscribed and was increased by 25% with 21 investors from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Europe and the UK. The placement was split 60% onshore and 40% offshore.

Prior to Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising agent, going to the market on November 30, it was attracting acclaim for launching the country's biggest initial public offering of the year. It was considered a brave move, given that the country had suffered more than 20 cancelled or delayed launches over the previous few months. However, an unfortunate slip of the computer keys by co-global coordinator UBS Warburg Japan at the 9am opening time gave the IPO a whole new reason for fame. Rather than typing in 16 shares at ¥610,000 apiece, one of the bank's employees placed a sell order for 610,000 shares at ¥16 each. The error was not discovered for all of two, painfully long, minutes, confirms Velvet Yoshinami, spokesperson for UBS Warburg. The result: 65,699 shares were sold before the order could be cancelled.

Downturn? What downturn? Dealogic's database lists 200 bond tranches issued by Asia Pacific borrowers (including Japan and Australia) from November to early December. Issuers in the region, attracted by low interest rates across the world, came to the market in droves, giving beleagured investment bankers a slightly more celebratory end to the year than they might have expected. Pick of the bunch, and perhaps a catalyst for many transactions that followed it, was a US$2.3 billion equivalent three-tranche, two currency issue from Singapore Telecom priced on November 15 and led by Goldman Sachs and Citicorp/Salomon Smith Barney. This was a deal of significance in every direction: the largest ever Asian corporate bond, and the second largest bond of any description ever from the region, behind the US$4 billion Republic of Korea transaction of 1998 (with exactly the same bookrunners); successfully completed against unparalleled uncertainty in the world; and symbolic of growing international interest in Asian credits.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel ? As far as privatization is concerned, Thailand's government certainly appears to think so. In November, it successfully raised US$8.8 million through the initial public offering of state-run Internet Thailand. This month, it raised a further US$700 million from the sale of 920 million shares in the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), the country's largest oil company, in a deal lead managed by CSFB, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Now there is talk that the long-awaited privatization of the Telephone Organization of Thailand and the Communications Authority of Thailand as well as nine other state enterprises will take place by the end of next year, raising as much as US$8.6 billion. Thailand's sudden enthusiasm for selling off stakes in government entities marks a clear turnaround after years of political foot dragging and opposition from unions. Previous administrations vowed to push through privatization, but with few exceptions failed to deliver. These days, however, with a failing economy, a large budget deficit and an ambitious social spending program, the Thaksin government may have little choice.

A man walked in to a company's European headquarters and told the management he could help them do business in China. They would have to invest US$20 million in a joint venture in Hong Kong, he said, but after that, he – being very well-connected on the mainland – could negotiate on their behalf and get their business rolling. The company, impressed by his credentials, was keen to go ahead; indeed, only the protests of the company's in-house counsel stopped it making the investment right away. So they asked a consultant to perform a basic records check, at the cost of a few hundred dollars. The consultant checked the name of the company the man claimed to represent, and found it didn't exist; called the number on the man's business card, and found it was never answered; and eventually went round to the address printed on the card. It said 14th floor. The building in question had only seven floors.