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Australian investors are to be offered a choice today (Friday), as the Northern Territory finance department and BT Office Trust both price their similarly rated bond issues. The two transactions offer contrasting credit stories for the domestic market, with the A- rated Northern Territory offering quasi-government risk while BT Office Trust embarks on its debut issue into the market, also with an A- rating.

French automotive manufacturer Renault is looking to make its entrance into the Samurai market though a ¥50bn five year Samurai deal next week. Merrill Lynch and Daiwa Securities SMBC have been appointed as joint lead managers. "Renault has never accessed the market before, but it is a highly regarded name in Japan because of its partnership with Nissan," said a banker at Merrill Lynch.

Brazil is considering a $2.4bn deal that would be backed by payments Poland owes to the country through the Paris Club. The deal - linked to JP Morgan, Bank of America, UBS Warburg and Salomon Smith Barney - would offer the sovereign an alternative to the exorbitant prices it faces in the dollar market. "Brazil is definitely interested in this idea of monetising Polish Paris Club obligations," said one banker in New York. "The thing is, they can't come back to the dollar market with yields where they are, there is not much demand in euros for a large amount of new Brazilian paper, and they have tapped out the yen market for the time being."

The Republic of Chile is planning to return to the international dollar bond markets in September for the first time since 1999, with a $500m-$1bn 10 year global bond. The sovereign is expected to award a mandate early next week. The transaction is aimed at providing a new 10 year benchmark in the US market for Chilean corporates, and also as a demonstration by the government of the country's economic strength and its distance from the continuing Argentine financial crisis.

Peter Cuckovic has started work at ING Barings as a telecoms research analyst in the London-based high yield team. Cuckovic was previously at Lehman Brothers where he was an analyst in the high yield telecommunications group.

DaimlerChrysler (South Africa) has issued the first ever South African domestic bond guaranteed by a non-South African company. The bond is a R1bn six year issue via Deutsche Bank and Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, and will be priced today (Friday). "This is the first ever Yankee style foreign guaranteed issue in the South African domestic market," said Neil Morrison, managing director of Deutsche Bank's South African division in Johannesburg. "In a sense, we and Standard Bank are flying a balloon to see whether the company's credit will be respected by local investors."

The European Central Bank cut rates by 25bp to 4.25% yesterday (Thursday) in response to slowing inflation and the slowdown in economic growth, leaving the door open for further cuts before year end. Short dated government yields fell sharply on the news, but the bond market was largely unchanged, with the focus very much on the ballooning corporate pipeline. But ahead of the September rush, new issuance was again thin on the ground. Nevertheless, the rapid digestion of transactions such as a Eu400m deal for Charbonnages de France and a Eu1bn issue from WestLB testified to the liquidity available for new product.

Dana Petroleum, the UK oil and gas exploration and production company, has announced its intentions to raise £24m, net of expenses, through a placing and open offer. Dana is looking to raise funds to maximise the value from its recent exploration successes and to finance its continuing programme.