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Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corp (MTRC) launched two domestic bond issues this week. Barclays Capital was sole lead manager for a HK$200m four year bond, which was priced at par and pays a quarterly coupon of 5.3%.

Australia James Hardie Industries raised A$200m through a placement of 35m shares at A$5.75 on Tuesday. The issue, arranged by UBS Warburg, was 5.4% below the company's A$6.08 price at Tuesday's close. The sale was to fund expansion of its US fibre-cement business and also repay debt. More than 40 investors took up the shares.

Reckitt Benckiser has signed a $1 billion Euro-MTN programme. Westdeutsche Landesbank is the arranger. It is joined by ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan, Mizuho and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney on the dealer panel.

* Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale Rating: Aaa/AAA

Finland JP Morgan is wrapping up the quiet first round of syndication on the Eu725m and Nkr8bn facility for Sampo, the Finnish insurer.

Market report Compiled by Richard Favis, RBC DS Global Markets, Johannesburg

* Alliance & Leicester plc Rating: A2/A/A+

* Eurohypo Luxembourg SA Rating: AAA

TCNZ has increased the limit off its $750 million Euro-CP programme to $1 billion. Telecom Corp of New Zealand has been dropped as an issuer. Barclays Capital and Citibank have been dropped as German dealers.

Tesco has added RBC Dominion Securities, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney as dealers to its £

Less than a month after Italenergia set the Euroloan market alight with the announcement of its Eu5bn bid for Montedison, Italy is again the centre of attention as bankers speculate on a possible Eu2bn facility to back the joint takeover by Pirelli and Benetton of Olivetti and Telecom Italia. Just as the market was heading for its summer slowdown, it emerged that Pirelli and Benetton-owned Edizioni Holding were creating a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to buy a 23% stake of Olivetti from holding company Bell, which is owned by Telecom Italia's former chairman Roberto Colaninno and other Italian investors, for Eu4.17 a share.

TI Securitisation Vehicle has signed a euro2 billion ($1.76 billion) Euro-MTN asset-backed note programme. WestLB acts as lead arranger and BNP Paribas and Finanziaria Internazionale are co-arrangers. The dealer panel consists of the three arrangers, Barclays Capital, Mediocredito Centrale, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney.