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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.

Despite a gloomy global economy and the events of September 11, syndicated lending remains the principal source of funding for the region's corporates. Joy Lee reports.

As banks are laying off staff rather than hiring them, it stands to reason that headhunters are struggling. But there are exceptions: China, Australia and regional fixed income teams are all doing well. By Matthew Montagu-Pollock

A strange thing has been happening at Barclays Capital: people have started to admire them. They've always been there, of course, with an admirable presence on the syndicated loan side at the very least; but they have been somewhat forgotten in the last few years of uncertainty, restructuring, regrouping and sales. But recently something bigger seems to have been growing. When several debt bankers told us they wouldn't mind working for Barclays, we thought we'd better go and see the chairman. Since September, that's been Robert Morrice (CEO and chairman for Asia), a young (39) and affably unaffected chap who took over from the ebullient Roger Davis. Morrice was previously global head of credit products at Barclays in London, where he joined from CSFB in 1996, and has worked closely with the bank's CEO, Bob Diamond, across a variety of institutions since 1987 (originally at Morgan Stanley, and subsequently CSFB). Some saw his appointment as evidence of a stronger voice being given to Asia – although, as he points out, you don't get many stronger voices than Roger Davis.

Globalization and the need to manage growing risks are pushing Asia towards shortening the settlement cycle in tandem with moves in the US. Pauline Loong looks at this expensive, but unavoidable, shift by the industry.

When NEC went to the domestic and international markets it was determined to avoid more debt on its balance sheet. That meant setting a number of firsts, including the best terms ever achieved by a Japanese issuer in the convertible bond market. Fiona Haddock reports.

Mark Qiu is a rare creature. The CFO of CNOOC, China's recently-listed oil company, likes talking to journalists – pretty much unheard of in a Chinese corporate CFO. Rarer still, he is in charge of the company's entire media strategy. Journalists being a cynical bunch, the question that immediately comes to mind is whether the company is gearing up to tap the capital markets again. That's the usual explanation when CFOs become friendly. But a look at the balance sheet shows CNOOC sitting on a pile of cash – some US$2.2 billion.

In a country where vast opportunities and potential returns have rarely outweighed the challenges for foreign institutions, retail broking has proven particularly tough. No surprise, then, that Merrill Lynch is wavering and Morgan Stanley has pulled out while the other bulge brackets appear content to operate from a safe distance. Fiona Haddock reports.

On the same day as RAMS Home Loans' record breaking Australian MBS came a deal from Members Equity Pty Ltd, the mortgage lender set up by trade union pension funds that has just become a bank. The A$500m issue, Superannuation Members Home Loans (SMHL) No 10, was a domestic offering, lead managed by Credit Suisse First Boston.

Japan The re-launched Nomura Research Institute IPO is being offered at a price range of between ¥10,000 and ¥11,000, slightly below the ¥11,000-¥12,000 range expected before the deal was temporarily blown off course by the ill winds of September 11.