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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.

Nomura successfully sponsored its first Hong Kong IPO since 1997 this week, when privately owned Chinese company Zhejiang Glass on Wednesday priced its flotation. China's fifth largest float glass maker will sell 170m shares at HK$2.96 each, above the range announced when marketing began and at the top end of the revised price range.

The Republic of the Philippines returned to the euro bond market in fine style this week, doubling the size of its intended Eu250m bond to Eu500m on the back of robust demand. But while almost all market commentators praised the amount of demand for the 144A Reg S deal, many also criticised the actual levels that the Ba1/BB+ rated republic had to accept to manage its second issue in the euro currency.

Thailand's finance ministry (MoF) has ended a week of speculation by confirming that Salomon Smith Barney has been appointed as sole bookrunner and Daiwa SMBC as a joint lead manager on the kingdom's first international bond issue in over three years. The issue's size and structure have still not been officially determined. However, the originally requested structure was for three tranches in a beauty parade back in October and ¥35bn is the likely amount. The deal will be launched and priced on December 11, following a roadshow the previous day, according to officials familiar with the transaction.

Vibrant activity in the Australian domestic market continued this week, with BAT Australia, Household Finance and two Deutsche Asset Management units cleverly taking advantage of the strong investor demand. Market observers predict that the late flourish in the domestic market will continue well into the new year. The combination of pent-up buyside demand, as a result of postponements immediately after the September 11 attacks, and the high levels of redemptions due may make Australia's domestic market one of the hottest debt markets in the world over the next two years.

A decision is expected this weekend on the launch of a roughly $100m IPO of Clear Media, the Guangzhou-based outdoor advertising company. Goldman Sachs is sole lead manager, ING Barings will be a co-lead in the international tranche and BOCI co-lead for the Hong Kong retail IPO. The deal is likely to be launched on Monday, following premarketing which began last week. Clear Media, a non-state private enterprise, is dominant in the Shanghai outdoor advertising market and has operations in other Chinese cities including Beijing and Guangzhou. The Chinese market is worth $2bn annually.

Hong Kong Speculation increased in the Hong Kong market that telecoms firm PCCW-HKT could be looking to launch a euro denominated bond issue on the back of its recent successes in the Japanese yen and US dollar markets. Barclays Capital and Salomon Smith Barney were said to be closely linked to the potential issue.

Akbank surprised the loan market this week by awarding a group of eight banks the mandate to arrange a $150m term loan. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi will follow soon after Akbank and the arranging group for that deal will be finalised today (Friday).