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McDonald's Japan and its shareholders will sell 26.2m shares before listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's over the counter (OTC) market on July 26. The pricing indication in regulatory filing is ¥3,500, indicating a placement of around ¥92bn, but bankers believe the final price could be as much as ¥5,000 per share, giving a size of more than ¥130bn.

Korea Telecom, the country's largest fixed line telephone company, sold a 17.8% government stake to overseas investors yesterday (Thursday), raising $2.24bn before fees in American Depository Receipts (ADRs). The Korean government sold 111m shares at $20.20 each, reducing its stake in Korea Telecom (KT) to 40.1% from 57.9%. The final $20.20 price was at a marginal discount to Wednesday's $20.35 New York closing price and a slight premium to the W52,300 closing price of the underlying stock in Seoul on Wednesday.

The Japanese government again indicated this week that it might not proceed with the next NTT privatisation tranche, hinting that it would consider other ways of selling down the stock. A group of banks - Daiwa SMBC, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nikko Salomon Smith Barney, Nomura Securities and UBS Warburg - was assembled to discuss the alternatives.

DaimlerChrysler has attracted strong demand for a Eu400m five year issue, which was launched via joint bookrunners Bayerische Landesbank (Balaba) and Caboto-Gruppo IntesaBci. This is the auto company's first transaction since March, when it brought a Eu6.5bn multi-tranche offering. "It was a dream of an issue," said Stephan Thiele, head of origination and syndication at Balaba. "DaimlerChrysler Canada Finance is a rare borrower with a standalone rating, so lines are available."

Danish Ship Finance (Danmarks Skibskreditfond) signed a $1 billion Euro-MTN programme on Wednesday, June 27, with Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase as the arrangers. It is rated Aa3 by Moody's and is the highest-rated shipping company to sign a Euro-MTN programme. Marianne Okland, responsible for the Nordic region at JP Morgan Chase, says: "It's a complicated story to sell to investors. Shipping-related credit is not an industry that often comes to the bond markets. In terms of sector diversification in a portfolio, it's a fantastic opportunity, plus with a rating you hardly ever see, it also offers credit protection." The borrower has been considering setting up the programme for some time. Bo Jagd, managing director at Danish Ship Finance, explains that conditions were finally right. He says: "We have very good access to funding in the Danish market, but we felt the time was right to establish the Euro-MTN programme so we can work on the entire yield curve and reach names that do not normally fund us." Per Schnack, treasurer at Danish Ship Finance, says the company will still fund itself in the domestic market: "The Danish market is second to none when it comes to long-term financing. But we may look to the Euro-MTN market for our short- and medium-term needs. Because funding in Denmark was so good, we put off setting up the programme until now." He adds: "We will be flexible on maturity and structure, but when it comes to price, we may not be so flexible." There are no plans for an inaugural trade - a decision on this will be made this summer. The borrower's funding need is euro1 billion ($860.52 million) per year. Danish Ship Finance foresees distribution needs in the Nordic region, with its choice of two Nordic banks on the dealer panel. Den Danske Bank and Nordea are joined by Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and the arranger on the panel.

At the roadshow for its forthcoming jumbo offering, Deutsche Telekom (DT) this week capitalised on the positive tone surrounding its credit by reassuring investors of its commitment to debt reduction. DT officials said the company intended to reduce its debt from Eu69bn to Eu50bn by the end of 2002 through the sale of property and cable assets and a partial flotation of cellphone division T-Mobile.

Hungary Mandated arrangers BNP Paribas, CIBC and Dexia have launched the Eu350m 7-1/2 year debt facility for Vivendi Telecom Hungary (VTH) into syndication.

Earls has concluded a Z51.10 million ($12.93 million) note to be issued on July 16. The note pays interest singularly and matures on April 16 2006. The issuer's seven other trades this year have all come in yen.

* Entreprise Minière et Chimique Rating: AAA

The Greek government yesterday (Thursday) launched a Eu750m exchangeable into Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE), the Greek telecoms operator. The deal, which is expected to start trading today (Friday), will result in the government losing its majority ownership of OTE.

The Federal Reserve Board disappointed the fixed income market by lowering interest rates by only 25bp on Wednesday. Treasuries sold off for the remainder of the week and the dollar yield curve flattened sharply. Swap spreads were bid up at the end of the week, closing at around 85bp in five years and 87bp at 10 years. However, to some dealers, swap spreads look vulnerable at these prices. The next few weeks are seen as a last chance for borrowers before rates move outside the current trough and the summer lull begins. If there is a period of renewed issuance, the swapping of new debt should put pressure on swap spreads.

The latest figures released by the Centre for Management Buy-outs show that in 2000, Germany surged ahead of the rest of continental Europe in terms of buy-out volume. But the authors of the report suggest that there is still great potential for growth in the market. The leap in volume, according to the report, is largely due to a number of jumbo transactions, which have accounted for more than 75% of the German market by value.